New Life
by Rowanne
Summary: this story has Nfsw scenes. Luther a man who was kidnapped after a house fire and turned into a Homo Octopoda, or a man with the lower body of an octopus. After being freed by a mysterious but nice red-haired Woman named Rowan, he left for eight months only to come back to find his half-brother, the only other survivor of the house fire that took everything from him.
1. Chapter 1

Needles, scalpels, blood, blinding lights, cold dark waters… Luther woke with a start. He was still in the bus seat with his blue blazer covering him. He slept most of the journey, and his nightmares still haunted him from those terrible days. "We'll be arriving in Jamestown, Alabama in ten minutes. Start gitten yer stuff together if yer gitten off." The driver called. Luther cracked his neck and straightened. He ran his fingers through his long wavy blonde hair, catching his overly pointed, even elongated ears, and brushed the only scar on his face and sighed. It went diagonally across his face from his right eyebrow over his eye and nose and ended at the bottom of his left cheek. He had scars all over his body, but the only one that showed was this one.

Luther looked out the window to see his ocean blue eyes mirrored. The long, almost pointed shape of his face also reflected like a fun house mirror because of the scratch in the window. He had something important to do in this town. He found an ad for some guy looking for his half-brother from sixteen years ago that had disappeared after their house was burned down. He would have a scar across his face with blond hair and blue eyes, and the name of this brother was named Luther V. Danton. That was him. If this really was Edward Xavier. Danton, the little black haired green eyed half-brother that he'd played with as a child, then it would be good to find him again.

When they arrived his one suit case was removed and he took his carryon backpack with him, and he watched the bus leave again. He had called this man, and they agreed to meet at the bus station. If he remembered, like his mother, Edward had this affinity for magic; real magic none of that fake shit stage magicians do. However, he had a passion for hunting, the use of a rifle. Luther looked around and then caught the glimpse of black hair in the crowd, much too deep of a color to miss. The man came up and he instantly locked onto the scar on his left eye; he was the one that had given it to him as a child. "Hi there!" He was out of breath, apparently he was late. "I told you I'd arrive at ten o'clock." Luther laughed, shaking the guy's hand. "Well you look right, that's for sure." He said giving him a glance over. By this time Luther had put up his hair in a short low ponytail to keep it out of the way. "I would hope so, especially since I grew up with you."

"Well, for the first eleven years yeah."

"Come on; let's get your stuff to the hotel first." He said picking up his suitcase. Luther chuckled. They took a cab to his hotel and dropped off his suitcase and then went out to lunch. They had Thai cuisine for lunch. It was interesting enough. He gave him that much. "So, sixteen years, where were you all this time?" Edward asked him. "It's kind of hard to explain…"

"How bad could it be?"

"You've probably heard crazier things… but after that day, I was… held against my will someplace in some mountains somewhere…" He did not seem all that surprised. "Well that makes two of us then; the held against your will part." He said poking his noodles. "I lost the use of my legs in the… and then someone took me away as I was dying… so much surgery was done to me, blood transfusions, I was kept under in a test tube, held in stasis until the next time they needed something done to me. Some of the tests show…" He said pulling one of his ears a bit. "Uncle Reman kept me in his house and abused me until he died some six years ago." His voice seemed lower and rough while taking about his past, and he acted as if he were suddenly a different person. "He was a bastard in the first place, always wanting you to stay at his place and wasn't he forcing you to learn about… magic?" Edward looked up, and put it off as stage magic which Luther knew wasn't true. "Yeah, he died from cancer." It seemed as if he were trying not to stare, or have an angered look on his face. "Well, you're lucky then, you don't have blood on your hands…"

"What do you mean?" Luther paused, taking a sip of the tea before continuing. "The first time I was set free without any real purpose, I killed the man that had kidnapped me and tested on me for all of those years. I escaped and have been rebuilding my life since." Luther noticed that Edward had switched again, he was now more bright, and chipper, and didn't try to avoid his gaze.

"Ah, heat of the moment I assume."

"That and looking at what I've become, before and after I killed him sent me for a serious loop."

"Well, he had it coming I think. Though what you mean by what you've become, I wonder about." Luther chuckled. "If I ever feel like it, you might find out one day."

"If I ever feel like finding out, then I will. Regardless of him being a bastard I learned a lot about magic and how to use it." He switched again. "So you can read people's minds like mother could right?"

"Pretty much." Luther sighed and looked out the window. "Looks like it's going to rain, I hope I can get back to the hotel before that starts." Luther frowned. They finished and headed back, chatting away about what's been happening to them. Then a rain drop hit Luther on his head and he literally jumped for cover. Ed, which is how he likes to be called now, looked at him in curiosity and Luther put it off as being not overly fond of rain. "I could just teleport us back."

"That would be great…" He blinked and they were in his hotel room and he slumped on the bed and sighed. "You know the only reason I haven't killed you myself yet is because you are actually my half-brother, Luther." Ed suddenly growled. Luther looked at him in confusion and sudden fear. "W-what are you talking about?" His stature had changed drastically, his eyes narrowed, and his aura was darker. It was as if he'd become a different man all together. "I know what you are; I can actually pick you from a mile away. While I agree that was a horrible thing to happen to you of all people, I find what you are now is disgusting." That echoed in his ears.

Ed then sat on the other side of the bed and rubbed his face. "I'm sorry you had to hear that; something else happened while you were gone…" Luther was so stunned by the threat and the hurtful insult that it took a moment to process the words. "What happened to you?"

"I did something very stupid… almost four years ago. There are two types of magic you just should not mix without some kind bad reaction coming from it. Light and Dark magic, you should not mix the two. I tried experimenting with mixing those two and my soul was split into two different entities."

"You have a split personality…"

"Yeah… and what you just saw was Xavier, or X, the dark half of our soul. There are others like you and for some reason Xavier just hates them with a passion." He changed auras again and hissed. "It's a well-founded hatred!" Now he was starting to see the boy from years ago, the one that always got into trouble. Where one side was nice and wonderful to be around, the other side was annoying, rude, and possibly held a title as 'bad boy' or 'neighborhood bastard'. Ed pushed his way through again and continued. "Some other things came with it but those aren't really important, or really apparent. Don't worry about it too much."

"He said that he knew what I was…"

"Yeah, your lower body was reformed into well…"

"Go ahead, say it, an octopus, I've already gotten over the embarrassment." He rested his head on his hand and his other hand held his elbow. "Yeah… I don't particularly care one way or the other. He does though, and if you try to touch us with those eight other limbs, he will try to kill you."

"Try? I won't try; I _will_ kill you!"

"I'm really sorry you had to find me like this…"

"Hey, it's not like we wanted to be this way right?"

"Right…"

"Then you shouldn't feel as bad, does he care about my hands at all?"

"It's just the uh… tentacles."

"I hate those too," Luther said laying back on the bed, folding his leg over the other. "I rarely use them at all. He's right they're disgusting."

"Ok, but I need to know one thing; you can switch back and forth between human legs and those limbs? Since I can only see human legs now." Ed asked. He probably didn't admit it but Luther could already tell he knew about the enchantment on him. "Yeah, I was enchanted so I wouldn't be seen like that in public. I couldn't stand the thought of being seen like that every day, though it has its pains. The enchantment doesn't work whenever I take a shower, or when I get too agitated... It can be a really annoying. Heh, sometimes I wish I really had died in the fire."

"You aren't suicidal are you?"

"Not anymore, Thank God someone much nicer found me and helped me get out and start a new life. I think she still lives somewhere around here… I thought if I had the time after meeting you I would drop by and say hello."

"She? You probably kept in contact with her didn't you…"

"She gave me her number before I left, though I never used it. It felt wrong to just call her after basically saving me and then I just leave." Luther paused fondly remembering what she looked like. "Long red hair in a single braid, pretty blue eyes, pale skin, she was definitely much nicer looking than my captor; and much _sweeter_. She was the one who enchanted me in the first place." Ed looked over his shoulder at him. "Can I see the number? I think I know who she is." He had a worried look on his face. Luther handed him his cell phone and it was one of the three listed there. The other was Ed's and the third was left unnamed. "R-Rowan? Shit it actually was her. So you were the bugger that she, Doc, and Lyth set free some eight months ago."

"Is that bad?" Luther asked sitting up and taking back his phone. "No, it just means she failed to tell me. Rowan could have told me and Xavier months ago that you were alive and we could have found you sooner."

"I'm the one that found you." Ed ignored him and continued. "She doesn't lie, but she doesn't tell the whole truth either. It gets so annoying!" Now he was sure that was Xavier. Xavier pulled out his own phone and looked at it for a moment then put it back, and stood to leave. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see her; I'm not letting her get away with keeping this from me." Luther followed after him; he was not going to miss the chance to see her again. Teleporting made him dizzy but then again he wasn't used to it so he put it off. They now stood in front of an apartment door and Xavier started to knock, but then quickly pulled him to the side in time for a man to go flying through the door, breaking it. "Well, there's the rapist that's been attacking women for the last week…" he muttered knocking on the frame before walking in. As he entered, a shuriken whizzed by his head and pinned the guy that was thrown out to the wall.

Then he smelled it. It smacked Luther in the face and made him freeze when he entered her domain. Strawberries; It was unmistakable, fresh ripe strawberries. Like a fine wine it left the flavor in his mouth. And like strong whiskey it hit him hard and made him feel drunk for a moment. To keep from embarrassing himself in front of them he pushed down the feeling and ignored the smell, no matter how much he wanted to find that source and taste it.

"Rowan, why didn't you tell me that it was my half-brother that you freed from that facility eight months ago?" Xavier growled. "At the time I knew you would hunt him down and try to kill him, so I just didn't bother." The woman who was now sitting on the couch while everything was restoring itself around her said, looking up at Xavier. "Yeah, I would've killed him; I would've put him out of his misery. But I won't now; it would've at least been nice to know that he was alive." The strawberry scent overwhelmed Luther again for but a moment, making him blink and shake his head, but he did pinpoint it. It was her; that delectable strawberry scent was coming from her. He had to stop himself before his instincts got the best of him again.

"No it wouldn't, you would've gone after him, you would have found him, he wouldn't have the sounder mindset that he does now, and you would've killed him." Luther walked up not entirely surprised about the magic that was taking place. "It's good to see you again, you know I was wondering if you even remembered me since you never gave me a call." She said looking up with a smile. "I-I was just getting my life back together, rather busy, I just forgot." She rolled her eyes and continued. "Aren't you two still catching up? You haven't killed him yet so that means I did the right thing and not tell you. So go on, go on your little date." Luther held in a burst of laughter as his half-brother's face turned startlingly red. Xavier then turned around and turned his nose up slightly and said, "At least I'm willing to get in touch with family, and not run away from them." Then he walked out dragging Luther with him. Luther looked back at her to see her reaction, and it looked like her head was hanging low.

"Don't you think that was kinda mean?" Xavier looked back at him and shrugged. "There can be worse things said of her, and she knows I mean nothing by it, and at least I didn't call her a bitch." They went down an alley and suddenly his half-brother fell forward, dead. Luther's switch knife had been ripped out of his sleeve and had the blade was shoved into his brother's heart. His heart literally stopped, "Oh god, oh god, oh god, Jellal what did you do?!"

"I did nothing, someone else used me. Strong magic." The black and blue blade glinted in his hand. _Stupid rune weapon._ Luther growled inwardly putting it in his pocket. It was up until that moment that Luther had actually forgotten about it. Luther laid him out and removed the knife; Then his half-brother gasped awake making Luther jump. "I'm ok; she's just getting Xavier back for unintentionally calling her that." Luther was stunned. He knows about magic and he now knows about Ed's problem, but this just startled him. "You were dead! I saw my knife in your chest, that isn't a gag knife!"

"That's one of the things that I'm stuck with now; I just can't seem to stay dead." Ed sat up, but was too dizzy to stand. "You can't stay dead?!"

"You're surprised by that?"

"Well, I was surprised when it happened, but I'm not entirely surprised that you can." Luther helped him back up onto his feet. "Now he's out cold, just like going unconscious the other takes over to keep the body moving." Ed laughed wobbling slightly before straightening out. "Dying's painful, waking up from it you always get this headache and your entire body's numb for a while."

It was around two or so when Xavier was awake again, and he decided he'd take Luther drinking. They went to this bar, and for some reason Xavier went into the back and brought out a bottle of vintage wine. "You're just allowed to wander into the back like that whenever?" Luther asked him as Xavier poured him a glass. He thanked him and smelled it before taking a sip. "Not unless you work here you don't. Rowan owns the place here, and all of our friends are put to work here as either volunteering, paid employees, or in Aaron's case, you live here." He pointed to a rather small man probably only twenty-one, with orange hair and a white lily barrette holding back his bangs. "We actually took the day off today, but they knew that I would bring you here sometime for a drink." Xavier shrugged. "You dislike what I am, you haven't seen me in years, and yet you trust me with this grade of wine, why?"

"I don't trust you, or at least very little; Ed trusts you more, but only to the level of talking about more personal things with you. Wine and beer is just a liquid, worth of money due to age has no meaning to me."

After two glasses Luther stopped because he didn't want to get drunk, his half-brother however seemed unaffected by the alcohol. Luther was studying the crowd while they were talking, when two men in grey business suits walk in and started going from table to table showing a picture. It was men in grey suits that set fire to their home; it was the men in grey suits that brought forth his captor. "We need to leave…" He whispered to Xavier with a shaken pale look. "Why?"

"Do I really need an explanation?" Xavier nodded, after noticing the two men himself, and waved at the bartender who looked frighteningly familiar. Xavier had Luther follow him into the back then. Luther managed a glance at the picture. He saw himself as a kid, and then black hair. "I didn't think they would find me here, I never came back to this place; just how quick did they figure it out. It would've taken days to get through the virus…" He muttered his mind spinning. "Why are they looking for you?"

"Who ever paid for the procedure to turn me into what I am didn't really like having his or her property taken. My waist down is technically his or her property."

"Sounds like you would've had a good time." Luther growled at his tease. "This isn't funny; I killed at least fifty of their own, now it doesn't matter if I'm dead or alive."

"Well, I know of one place you can run and hide." Xavier pondered for a moment and then cringed slightly. "Only if it's safe…"

"I don't think you can get much safer." They teleported when Xavier tugged Luther into the guys bathroom. Then they found themselves in front of _her_ door. Luther was confused by this and was silent until she opened the door. "We've got a bit of a problem."

Rowan looked at them in complete un-amusement and said, "I know you do, Aaron just called, after what he told me I figured that you two would be showing up at me door sometime. Come in." She stepped out of the way and gestured for them to enter, but instead Xavier simply pushed him in and told her, "You watch him for a bit, I'm goin' huntin." Now he was sure that was actually Ed, and when he looked back he was gone. "If he gets himself captured I swear to god it'll be the end of me…" Luther frowned. "He means well… anyway judging by the fact that I won't intervene and there is a militia of at least thirty heading into town at this moment… two days? Ok you can take the spare bedroom in the back, and I would suggest staying in the vicinity of the apartment while it's being taken care of." She just up and told him what to do. Then again that is what she did back then, but was much nicer about it. He was really too scared to refuse her at that time.

"How do you know it'll take two days or more and that more are even coming here?" He asked taking a seat at one end of the couch as she reclined in the lazy boy. "I can sense them moving together in a mass much too big to just be separate people that just happen to be near each other, and they have weapons on them."

"Sensing… that's probably how mother kept us in sight…" He fell to a mutter for a moment. "A group of that size will disperse just outside the city and will disappear into the crowds. Even with Ed's keen eyes and Xavier's magic, it will take a couple days to get all of them by himself."

"Why don't you help him?"

"He didn't ask for my help, and he doesn't like having to worry about someone else while trying to weed the danger out." That kinda sounded like him. "Ah huh…You aren't just lazy?"

"That too."

"And he told me that you were nothing but selfless." Luther sneered, getting her full attention finally. "Being lazy and being _selfish_ are two different things." She growled. "Oh yeah, they are two different things, but one always follows with the other." She looked him in the eyes then settled back into the lazy boy and chuckled. "You're a good persuader; I almost went after him. How many people did you lure to bed with that tongue?" What- "I-I don't know what you mean…" He blushed and looked away. "Oh my that's a considerably low number compared to the actual number of people total that you-"

"HEY!" She laughed again. "Oh I was right?" She played him. He growled at her, disliking that she did that. She's still playing him. "Hnhnhn… don't worry about me, I'm just having a little fun, having not slept in three days, and I'm actually much more… or rather I'm actually much less _moody_."

"Maybe you should get more sleep."

"I wish… too many nightmares…" Nightmares of what? All he gets are nightmares and he manages to sleep just fine… more or less… "Ever tried a dream catcher?"

"Made it myself, all lines snapped, frame split down the center."

"Herbal tea?"

"Makes it worse and I wake up with stomach pains."

"Not having sugar before bed?"

"Nothing changes."

"Vice versa?"

"Same."

"A bed mate?" That time he wasn't really thinking, just listing. She gave him a look that time, and after a pause, answered. "Haven't found the right person to trust to be near me while I'm asleep yet." Trust issues… "But you wouldn't mind one."

"No, I wouldn't; like I said it has to be someone I trust, and I would prefer a guy…" He had been ignoring the strawberry scent pretty well up until now; looking straight at her… he focused on the conversation to keep anything from happening. "I would never go near Ed like that; freaking idiot is more like a little brother, even if he's older than me." She has to be around twenty-three, twenty-four years old, and he's two years older than his brother, and he's twenty-eight now… so that meant Ed was twenty-six… "Doc's not only like a father to me, he has a partner…" Luther was still red from earlier, but he blushed again from the thought. She ignored it. "Aaron… he's more like a cousin… or a little brother, that cute one that's always sweet to you…" Holy crap how many guy friends did she have? "And that's about it…" She forgot to mention him… then again, she didn't really know him, nor he her, so he could let that slide.

"Why don't you trust more people?" She rested her head on her hand and looked out the window, showing little emotion. "Childhood problems."

"Oh? What happened to you?" He didn't exactly get to _finish_ his childhood, so he always took interest when someone talks about theirs. "You really don't need to know."

"Come on, I bet you already know everything about me and my past, it's only fair to give a little to what you take." She looked at him in shock and bewilderment, as if he said something important. Then she turned back and sighed. "I didn't look like this when I was younger… and as a young child, that wasn't good. I was ridiculed and bullied all the way through school. As much as I loved to learn, I hated going to school because of them… most of the bullies were guys… and I did nothing. I don't trust many people because I can't be sure if they'll just hurt me again." Ah, bad childhood, but it seemed like she was hiding a lot about it. "Why only the boys?"

"They were physical." She was beaten… shouldn't she have… physical scars? "I could never see any boy in that school as anything other than that. I could never bring myself to try and trust one, to let one get close enough… then again all they wanted were busty whores that were around their age and the ones that didn't just didn't have near the same preferences." It appeared that she had said enough to her liking and stood, going into the very back room. He didn't follow her, but he did walk after her to go to the spare bedroom she had offered. It was dark, no windows, but it was well ventilated so it wasn't stuffy. Now, usually the law requires rooms to have windows, but he actually felt safer with one that didn't have it. He looked at the time; it was around eight. He'd already had dinner. Thus he felt it was safe enough to lock the door behind him and start taking off the extra layers of clothes.

Luther slipped out of his jacket and left it on the chair. He hid his butterfly knife, which he cleaned up after pulling it out his half-brother's chest earlier, under a pillow and left his gun on the side table. He had hastily knotted his tie this morning so he had a small problem with getting that off; his shoes were next. Then he slumped on the bed. Great he only managed a short nap in his hotel room. Good thing it was free, maybe he could get the manager to- wait... What was that at the foot of the bed? It was his suit case! His silencer was still there too. How did that get- never mind he already figured it out, she probably used her magic. Luther fell back onto the bed and regardless of it being a little dusty, it was really comfortable and he instantly fell asleep. He hadn't realized he was that tired… or that he was ready for his nightmares again.

It was of that day, the fire blazing, charring his skin, trying to tear him apart with the falling debris… then lying beside the burning place unable to move anything, even his own voice… lost. Cries of family being devoured by the flames… he could hear his brother screaming, for mother, and father, and him. Edward screamed his name, and it rang in his ears. Then that shadow stretched over him, and the gaze of cold, heartless, vile blue eyes pierced him. And a long terrible grin, showing a shark's smile as he was lifted by his neck into the air. Something reached out as he was being choked and ripped his useless legs off, the pain was unbearable. He was bleeding, and choking, and drowning, and dying, but death would not take him. Then he saw himself as he was now. And the smirk he had matched that dark grin of the man who did this to him… that wasn't him, he wasn't like that! He was holding a bloody human head- no, NO!

Luther woke again with almost a cry had he not stopped himself. He'd been crying again… he sat up and rubbed his face groaning. Just one night he'd like to get a nice dream, one that let him sleep the length of it. He was considering going back to sleep when he started smelling food cooking and looked at the clock, it was like three in the morning. It smelled good though, and gave him just enough energy to get up and take a look. Rowan was in the kitchen cooking. Even though something in his head told him not to go in there, he walked into the kitchen to ask what she was doing. He then found himself at knife point. She didn't even look away from what she was cooking. "You come into my kitchen to disturb me squid-boy, and I'll turn your butt into takoyaki." He wasn't about to say anything against her with the tip of a chef's knife at his throat, "S-sorry…" He quickly slipped to just the entrance and watched her put the knife down and continue. Her hair was down now, flowing like a red river. Where earlier she was hiding her emotions, her eyes sparkled with enjoyment while she cooked. "I'm sorry for threatening you, I don't like when people try to interrupt me while I'm cooking." He shook his head, holding in the laugh because she was quick to apologies. "But do remember that this doesn't mean that I won't threaten you again if you try again." She said she was sorry and then she gave a warning, she's weird. "I'm just curious as to what you are making."

"Pan-fried Cajun sausage balls, locally made ground sausage, seasoned with creole seasoning, mixed with short grain rice, rolled in flour, egg, and panko bread crumbs in that order, and fried in two inches of oil." He's heard of these, a recipe over in New Orleans. "Could I try one?"

"After I finish." At least she's willing to share. "So what woke you up?" She asked him as he took a seat at the table. "Nightmares of bad memories… nothing to really be worried about."

"This has been going on since I set you free hasn't it?"

"…Yes…"

"I see…" She used chopsticks to pull out the finished product and brought it out to the table along with dip that was a mix of sour cream, ranch, Italian dressing, and hot sauce. The rice was perfectly cooked, which was surprising because as they were eating she explained that she didn't precook it. "Why are you up this early, cooking?"

"I like to cook. It's fun. Now I've already told you the reason why." He knew what she meant. "Have you tried music?"

"Works for a time but then after a while I just wake up again."

"Specific music?"

"Yes."

"What type?"

"Traditional Irish and Scottish, as well as certain quiet classical." Now why did she just admit that? It could be used against her. "Drop on a dime when I hear it for some reason…" He thought about what could make a person do that aside from imprinting it, and training, neither of which would be willingly either. "Then you really should look into finding a bed mate, for it sounds like that's your last option." She shrugged and ate another one. "What, are you offering?" He had tried not to let himself think that way… even though he did, and probably wanted a lot more than he was pretty sure she was willing to let happen.

That was his animal talking, the strong urge to do animalistic things… he dealt with it most of the time, but sometimes it just overwhelmed him and right now he could not let that happen. "Eh, heh, heh… it was… just a thought." She smiled partly, very small, and…sweet. "It's more than a thought; I know you're fighting saying yes. Those urges and such that come with being like that, you weren't the only one that went back and copied the files on you." He turned even redder from the blush. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, you literally can't help it." She leaned over and poked him between the eyes when he had become unfocused. "Hey."

"Y-yes?"

"When was your last time?" He held back the urge to ask her to repeat herself. "W-what's the rela-"

"I saw when you first came into my apartment that you were overwhelmed by a smell, possibly my scent; then again when you came looking for a safe place to hide; others of your kind don't physically need the pleasure just to function for a week, but you were designed to. So judging by the difficulty you're having, and the amazing will you've also been exhibiting, I would judge to be about a month or so. Oui?" his eye twitched. She laughed and continued, "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, but you make it somewhat obvious, at least in my eyes." He shook his head, having been shocked by her observation. "I-I um…" He coughed, and she went into the kitchen and brought out two things, a bottle of wine, and a can of soda. She set the soda aside and popped open the bottle of wine, it smelled of strawberries… how… ironic.

Somehow he managed to drink most of the wine. Even though it somehow didn't seem to ever run out, she didn't seem to even get tipsy. She kept persuading him to drink more till he finally forced himself to stop giving her the last cup or so of wine. The conversation between a sober person and a drunken one is always interesting, and now that he was drunk, he really couldn't stop himself from bluntly flirting. By this time he's had six or seven glasses of this strong strawberry wine, and even though he wasn't agitated or wet or anything, his lower half decided to split into his eight blue octopus limbs. And he then proceeded to ridicule himself over them. "It's not that I don't like the extra hands an' all, but its jus' stupid to see me walk, fucking walk! I hate dees damned things…"

"I don't know, they are of a pretty shade of blue, and they seem strong, much stronger than other's that I have met." He couldn't think far enough past the fog to wonder what she was trying at. "Pfft, you're jus' bein' nice again…" He snorted. "Oh no, I'm being genuine, I like your limbs, you are still very handsome." She grinned, and he wasn't sure if he was still trying to flirt with her, or if she was just seducing him. He thought maybe this was her subtle way of being drunk. "What has a pretty little thing like you done to get stuck in my head?" he blurted looking down at the last ounce of his wine with a frown. "What do you mean?"

"Ever since I left those many months ago… even while I was doing some high price prostitute jus' to keep myself in check, I couldn't stop wondering what ever happened to you…" She took a moment to look him up and down before nodding and asking him why again. "I donno… I felt disgusting after every time I went to one, taking a shower every time, and going say once a month. All I felt like that I did wrong was going through that door and leaving you back then." He was slurring terribly, but she could understand him just fine.

"So you don't like the sex?" She asked, it was now that she took the can of soda from earlier and popped it open and downing it in one swig. He watched her, the color of her cheeks swiftly turning flush. "O-of course I like the sex! Who wouldn't? It jus' didn't feel right, I didn't feel right whenever I did one; I did try starting relationships once or twice… never worked out. First time I showed them who I was; those that didn't run only wanted to try it once before running away or tried to use me for their own gain…" He growled, having to lean against the table just to keep himself from falling out of the chair. In a moment of rare soberness in an almost dead drunkenness he looked at the time, it was about five in the morning. "There is never enough time to talk…" He sighed trying to stand, and almost tripping over himself when Rowan caught him. "Come on, it's really late, let's just go to bed now." She pulled him forward and the moment they reached the hall everything went black for him.

Generally when he passes out after getting drunk, one of two things will most likely happen, and considering he is staying in the apartment of a woman that he's always looked up to… it's probably a safe bet that he did something that he probably shouldn't have. His drunken dreams were still somewhat dark, but stayed mostly pleasant. This generally being the only time his dreams were pleasant at all. He woke sometime around one in the afternoon, groggy and unsure of where he actually was. It was dark since the curtains blocked the sunlight well, and the only lights on were from under the bedroom door. The blankets were left down to around his waist… he wasn't sure if he had clothes on or not… Something to note though, he didn't have that much of a hangover. He felt a little sick and woozy, but no nausea; and he felt almost blissful. He didn't remember anything oh God why didn't he stop himself?

_Because you didn't want to._

That thought made him shudder slightly. It was stupid that he let himself get drunk like that; he knew how he generally acted…

Then Luther froze; he wasn't alone in bed… and he was also sure that this wasn't the room that he'd been given to sleep in since it had a window in the first place. His heart pounded as he maneuvered himself to look down to see who he was entangled with. Luther's eyes slitted and his night vision let him see those silky, fire red locks cutting across a flush porcelain face that was half buried into his collarbone. Oh no… it was her, he was in her bed, oh God why?! He was drunk, she helped him to bed and then he probably seduced her. If she wakes up and doesn't remember last night like him, oh God please don't do this to him again! Not with her, anyone but her! He begged God to not let him screw another chance up, not again. She moaned quietly, shivering a little bit and snuggling a little deeper into his chest making him freeze again. Ok, its ok, she's still asleep… he had to take stock of what happened. His shirt was gone, it was on her and from what it felt like, it was the only thing she had on… there was a couple unused condoms on the nightstand beside the bed; that's it, he's never drinking again! Bullshit he's probably going to have something later. Even though he could wiggle in to and out of tight spots, this… this was kind of something that he could not just put off with a fake smile, a bit of a laugh, and then hightail it the hell to Arkansas. What's worse is that at some point today he was sure that Ed, or even more likely since he's the nosy half, Xavier would come in and just know on the spot. He really wanted to die now, no matter how much it might have felt good…

Did it feel good? He could not really remember… but… he… he felt…good. Not disgusting like when he screwed a prostitute, he felt dirty, but not in the way that he always did. It was… bearable. He didn't understand what was going on with him. He had slept with the woman that saved him from that facility eight months ago. He had made great strides in rejoining society, and rebuilding his life. And now he felt like he was just getting over being a freak and had sex with the whore that had showed him that it wasn't all bad. But Rowan was in no way a whore.

Her eyes twitched, and he froze for a third time. They lifted slightly, very foggy and dull as if she wasn't really awake yet, but they held that nice warmth in them. A dark blue outer ring with an inner ocean blue and regardless of being dull they were beautiful. He held his breath, she didn't move or respond, her eyes just kept opening and closing. Never opening more than just enough to see the color of her eyes before they fell again; it was like she was conscious, but not awake. Maybe he should say something… that he's sorry, that he didn't mean to have probably the best sex of his life if he could remember it. "What…time is it…?" She moaned quietly, trying to turn her head. "About two…" He stuttered. "Ugh… I drank it too quickly…" He did remember her drinking that soda rather fast, of the things that he remembered at all. She didn't pay much mind to the fact that they were both mostly naked. "I-I um…" Why is it so hard to talk to her? It's like he was a teenager trying to ask some girl out on a date… well… something like that. "I'm sorry for taking advantage of you last night." She…what? "I'm sorry?"

"After you became drunk last night, and thought it had become pretty late, I drank a soda, getting myself drunk and instead of helping you to your bed, I helped you to mine…" She remembered more than he did that was for sure. "So you get drunk off soda?"

"Don't tell your brother. He still owes me two hundred bucks from the last drinking contest; he'd say that it would require a re-due with fairer odds, and I don't even want to think about the way I would act with that amount of soda in me…" she yawned rolling out of his embrace and onto her back. "Getting back to the point… I shouldn't have done that to you, you should have been given the choice to whether you wanted to or not; so I'm sorry." He thought of one way that she could make it up to him. "Well, at least it looked like we had fun…" Luther shrugged, still lying on his side, now looking down at her.

She snickered and smiled, thinking or rather remembering something. "What?"

"Even when I'm drunk I make sure to remember what I did in case I have to fix something later. You kept saying something about my scent; that I smelled like strawberries." Oh… Luther smiled partly, and a slight blush forming. "Y-yeah… it's…" He leaned over and sniffed her lightly. "A subtle smell, not like strawberry preserves; like fresh strawberries that have just been brought in from the field; light smell of that first bite, the only time when a human nose can actually smell it." He held in his tongue as his mouth watered from smelling her. "I've never been told that I smell like strawberries, most men say something about flowers, and perfume. I don't wear perfume and they generally are out of luck." Interesting. "Well, I don't know about those other men, but you do know that more than just my waist down is that of an animal. I can't stand cologne or perfume, it overwhelms my senses…this…" He leaned forward again and this time buried his nose into her neck breathing deeply and growling, "This smells so much better." He wanted to taste her… that scent… She pushed him off and laughed moving to get up but he whined and pulled her back down. "Please…" She rolled her eyes and let herself be pulled down again. "Ok." She giggled, letting him push into her neck again. He moved to sit on top of her; his shirt easily moving aside being much too big for her.

That smell, he couldn't remember last night, it was killing him that he couldn't remember, he needed to know if she tasted the same as well. Luther parted his lips and stuck out his tongue. Oh the head rush from the taste was brilliant. He wanted more. He needed more of that; her hands had started brushing his scarred body, making him groan._ Once_ he thought, _just one more time_. His lower body split again into eight long tentacles that in the right light looked like eight rivers of azure blue. As was the way of the enchantment that was placed on him by this woman eight months ago after he begged her to save him from this humiliation in public. His tentacles tickled her legs and waist and she didn't really mind; while it would make even prostitutes uncomfortable, she was relaxed, even enjoying the feeling. His hands began to unbutton the shirt; but after the first four, he pulled it open revealing her chest, he didn't look down; he let his hands paint the picture for him. Trained fingers swept down the middle of her chest, and then traced the form of her left teat, finally running over her nipple making her shudder and groan. "You certainly have experience~" She mewed deciding that she would finish where he had stopped and unbuttoned the rest of the shirt, showing the rest of her naked form to him. "You have no idea." He growled moving away from her neck and sliding down to kiss the center of her chest and then begin to suck on one of her breasts. She arched her back for deeper suction, and gave him an opening to slip a hand under her and feel her back.

He had just latched onto her other breast when his fingers reached her spine and she gasped, going from smooth movements, to rigid and trembling, gripping his shoulders, eyes closed tight. "Oh so you like it when I do _this_, huh?" He chuckled brushing her spine again and doing a rough tug on her nipple with his tongue. She cried out, biting down on his shoulder to keep herself from anything louder. Now where she was just letting him do anything he wanted she couldn't stop herself from touching and stroking and kissing anywhere she could reach. Every time his fingers brushed over her spine she would freeze for a couple seconds then continue and become even more frantic. "P-please… H-HURRY!" she cried digging her nails into his back and locking her legs around his waist. Far be it from him to deny her since she begged so sweetly. He went to reach for a condom and she took the opportunity to wrap her fingers around his dick. She gave it a light but swift tug making him growl in surprise and pull his hand back to her, forgetting about the condom all together. She obviously didn't care now. "Now, NOW!" She hissed pulling his waist down with her legs and guiding him to her entrance and then pulling his head down for a kiss. He growled and thrust in, forgetting anything about taking it slow and torturing her for as long as possible. She now needed him, and he'd needed her for a long time.

Any speech was lost with the first thrust, only gasping, moaning, and screaming seemed to be all that they could do. Oh god it felt so good to move in her; she was soft and tight, and when you got her back again she would shake, and moan and wiggle… her lips were heavenly; sweet and soft and still tasted of that strawberry liquor, and he just drank her in. Luther felt like he was drunk off her again. The haze was thick, and he felt like he couldn't get enough of her. He couldn't go deep enough, he wanted all of her, every single inch… her hands cupped his face, warming his somewhat cold ears and keeping his face there as the force of the thrusting kept pushing her forward. He kept going harder, faster, never slowing down, making her scream. He felt close and wondered how long he could last with her when she suddenly cried out and bit him again. She shook and trembled, her orgasm buffeting him getting him to slip straight off the edge just seconds after. He roared as he came, wet heat bursting into her causing another wave of pleasure to overwhelm her again. Luther hadn't meant to come in her. He hadn't meant to really have sex with her without a condom. He did have to admit it though, felt amazing and satisfying to let go and fill her.

Luther had collapsed on top of her, his muscles burned from the roughness of it. It took a lot of will just to roll off her, and even more to open his eyes. She wasn't moving. Aside from the heaving in her chest and her head turned to the side facing him, her eyes were screwed shut, and her face was very flush. Then there was a flash in his mind from last night, she was more…or at least quick to recover after each one. Right now she was recovering like any normal woman that just had rough sex with an eight legged man. What about her back can make her just snap like that? Was it a burn or scar? When Rowan finally moved and curled up to his side, he took the opportunity to slide a single delicate finger down her spine. She whined and squirmed; her teeth clenching and her eyes becoming even tighter shut. She was about to push away when he rested his hand on her side and pulled her close. "What's wrong with your back?" Luther asked when his breathing allowed. She whined again and flipped over, showing him her back, and there tracing from her neck to her tail bone was a scar, long and tender looking. "Light or hard touches… are too much…"

"Can your back be touched at all normally?"

"I don't know what the right…pressure is for when it's ok…" She muttered. He placed his palm lightly on her spine and at first she mewed and squirmed then he added pressure, slowly, eventually reaching a normal pressure where she wasn't squirming. She did however start to breathe a bit more heavily. He decided that it was best, if he just didn't bother. He pulled her into his chest, she shivered for a moment, and then that was it. "Ed is going to be here around four… dammit I don't want to get up…" she moaned raising her eyelids just a bit to see the time, it was two thirty. "Then stay here…" He whispered nuzzling her ear enjoying the post-sex euphoria. "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that if I stay here then you'll want to go another round… getting as much out of my end of the promise I suppose…" She yawned. Promise? What promise? When did they make a promise? He prayed it didn't include him having to dress in frilly pink dresses for a week… again. "You don't remember even that do you? Well you did manage to drink about your weight…" she was starting to fall to a mutter. "You promised me that you wouldn't leave me, and in return I let you sleep with me as many times as you want…to keep you…right…" She fell asleep again… well, that kinda sounded like a prelude to marriage… but at least he was getting something out of it, and it can't be too hard to stay with her.

It turned three-thirty when he thought it would be best to get up and shower and get dressed again… they've been in bed apparently all day, so he had to be dirty for not cleaning up even once. The hall shower was just too far away for him to bother since she had a master bathroom right there. It didn't take long for the water to heat up, and he almost purred when it sprayed him as he entered. It was probably the animal side of him loving this feeling of water on him, it just felt soothing. The gills on his neck flexed at the first feeling. Just to catch some of the spray, and then shut again, tight enough to keep out dirt and stuff, but you could easily pull one open with a finger. Along with the blue tentacles, he also had claws, and eyes that slitted becoming cat-like; he even had fangs. Luther at one point turned his face to the water and let it drip, his eyes closed. His ears heard the door open and the curtain pull up slightly. His tentacles twitched as the thin but strong arms wrapped around him. "Shouldn't we wait at least a day considering the number of times we already have done it?" He smiled not turning away from the water just yet. "I_ never _said whenever_ you _wanted." He chuckled and twirled her around, backing up and folding his arms. "I'm not going to touch you while you're still dirty, mon cher." She quickly figured out what he was playing at and grinned, accepting the challenge, she turned her back to him, and grabbed the shampoo to start with her hair.

There was a particular way she knitted and scissored the lather into her hair. She had pulled her hair over her shoulder revealing the scar on her spine. With her hair out of the way he committed how he saw her now to memory. That hourglass form, pale but flush skin, beads of water that didn't drip down somehow glittered… she once turned her head to look over her shoulder at him, and did it in such a way that it sent a tingle straight to his groin. He had no doubt that she could last longer than him. If he didn't play a little dirty. He strained his hair and slowly brushed off the water on his chest. When she had washed her hair out and had lathered her body, he snuck a tentacle up into her making her gasp and glare back at him. He smiled innocently and answered, "You missed a spot."

"Cheater." She growled, ignoring the now wiggling tentacle in her and continuing the best she could. She lightly washed off her legs and he curled it once making her shudder. When the lather was almost gone and she had only one last place to wash when it curled again and startled her. Then she found herself pushed up against the wall. "Even after that you still lasted longer." Luther growled against her neck pulling away the tentacle, and replacing it with something much hotter.

She groaned; her arms pinned to either side of her head with his tentacles, her chest pressed into the wall as he thrusted. The slow movements putting a haze into her head again. He stroked her spine again making her cry out. Rowan thought of one way to get him back, but she had to turn around first. As if he knew, he suddenly pulled away flipped her around and pushed her back into the wall and thrusted in again, going hard and fast. Taking advantage of his exposed neck, she leaned up and using only her teeth and tongue, slipped her tongue into one of his gills. "Gah! Wha- AH!" Luther hissed, never having someone do that to him before. He thrusted hard and made her pull back again. It didn't take long for her to cry out and tighten around him. Thinking that he'd save those lengthening games for another time he drove hard into her. As he came Luther bit down hard on her neck.

It didn't take too long for them to recover, and Luther decided he'd clean them both up again. "What was with you doing that to my neck? That really surprised me." He grinned over her shoulder. "It was for cheating." She mewed grinning herself. "Keeping me good, eh? Hnhnhn… that's nice, though I however, very much like being bad…" He nuzzled her ear while she laughed. They finished showering and drying in time for Ed to arrive. "I don't think he'll be too happy to hear about this." Luther laughed picking up his clothes and taking long strides out of her bedroom and to the spare bedroom to change. He heard Rowan let Ed in, his enhanced senses coming in handy at that moment. As he was pulling on his pants he listened to Rowan tell Ed that he'd just finished taking a shower and was getting dressed now and that he'd be out in a minute. He dressed himself in his only pair of jeans and a red polo shirt. Slipping into his brown slip-on sneakers, he casually walked out of the room like they didn't just have sex in the shower. If anything, he was really good at hiding his emotions from body posture. He could actually make it near impossible to tell if he's lying, if he remembers his eyes. To his surprise Rowan's hair was drip dry and was up.

It was easy to tell whenever Ed and Xavier switched control. Xavier was very keen on details, and had an ass of a personality. His posture and disposition would subtly change a bit as well. Xavier looked Luther over and received an eyebrow rising. Luther felt a tingle in the back of his head and thought that he was going to try and read his mind. He didn't want his brother doing that to him. It would get old fast and he just didn't want him in there. "Now how are you keeping me out? I've scanned you and you don't have any magic ability whatsoever."

"I don't know, maybe I like the privacy in my own head to remain that way." Luther shrugged. Actually, it might be because he had a lot of time to strengthen him mental will, some fifteen years in fact, it shouldn't be too surprising… "Are you doing this Rowan?"

"Oh no, I don't care enough to do something like that, he's doing that on his own; that's some pretty nice willpower." She laughed before taking a sip of the glass of water she had. "Whatever, have you made any progress?" Luther asked not even needing a mirror to put up his hair. "…Yeah. I've been picking out the signatures all day and Ed's been tracking them down and dealing with 'em. It'll take us another day to find the rest."

"You know how many are here?" Luther asked making sure his watch was right before looking up at him again. "I sensed the mass heading into the city; I couldn't lock onto the signatures fast enough, only managing the last dozen or so. It's a real pain picking them out one by one." Xavier growled. "You should have started the scan as soon as he warned you; maybe it would take less time then." Rowan suggested. "Yeah, yeah, coulda woulda shoulda; At least I'm doin' something about these blokes. You ain't done anything today I'm sure, daft girl." Luther had almost forgotten that they'd grown up outside London… where his half-brother had that real thick British accent, he didn't really have an accent growing up first in France and then in England, change in the culture being what killed it. "You know I'm in no way 'daft' you didn't ask for help." Rowan growled. "What could you find them sooner?"

"I have every single one picked out and ready to be teleported I'm just waiting for you to ask for my help, or did you want me to just do it without your knowledge and then you'd be looking around aimlessly and confused for the next day or so?" She snorted, granting an irritated look. "I hate it when you act like this."

"Sorry, bad friendships and communications aside would you like me to take care of them for you?" She smiled innocently, which they both knew not to be true. "Yes! Please, since you already have them in your sights!" Xavier had let Ed take control, possibly brewing over this conversation, and Rowan simply continued to smile and snapped her fingers. "Done, if you want them alive then you might wish to send an emergency team to mount. Helen. They're dangerously close to the edge without a way down."

"Dammit girl!" Ed hissed disappearing from sight again. "Well then, he should have say…. An hour… if they realize that it's not a good idea to try and climb down because there are sheer drops and they do not have the proper equipment." She chortled and seated herself once again in the lazy boy. "Now that seems a bit drastic…"

"He'd be fat from only ever using his magic if I wasn't." Luther shrugged at the point and only due to reflex did his hands move to straighten the nonexistent tie. "Oh…" He quickly turned that into something else. "…well. Not like I can do much about it." He relaxed on the couch wondering if he should go out just to get whatever daylight there is still out there.

His eyes wandered shut, and it only felt like it had been only a moment when he heard her scream, "You promised you wouldn't leave me!" His eyes snapped open and looked around. She was still sitting there but was now reading a book; apparently he'd been out for about an hour. "You're surprisingly a quiet sleeper." She said turning a page. "I suppose that's a good thing?"

"Well, it is in times of war yes, but sometimes it makes people wonder what you're dreaming of."

"Nothing at all." He muttered sitting up. "That's a shame, though by the suddenness that you woke into full alertness makes me wonder."

"It was nothing, really." He shook his head and yawned. His heart was pounding in his chest, that cry had really scared him. Why, he didn't know; it just… felt like he needed to do something about it. "Thinking about it neither of us have really eaten today… there's a Chinese restaurant a few blocks away, wanna go?" She asked closing the book and setting on the coffee table. He shrugged; she'd eaten once… then again that wasn't technically food, "I don't really care what cuisine it is, so long as it's edible… and decent tasting."

"I don't go to decent tasting places." She laughed walking out the door with him trailing behind still stretching a bit. She had her hair up in that single long braid, which was a shame for she looked so nice with it down; maybe he could persuade her one day… then again, that was if he was to even keep this promise they had apparently made while he was drunk. He'd have to either A, find a place somewhere close to her's; or B, just move into that spare bedroom. Better yet, move in with her and just sleep with her every night. He chuckled at the thought. Luther then returned to that cry, and pondered it. It was definitely her voice, of that he was sure, maybe it was her doing… maybe she was telling him that he had no choice in keeping the promise or not. Whatever, so long as it didn't really impede him on whatever he was doing then it shouldn't really be a problem.

They arrived at the restaurant quickly, and were given nice seats near the front. He had a feeling that this might be more like a date… at least if he had his way at the end of it. The food was wonderful, and they had a nice chat on their preferred way of interrogation. Who else would really talk about that in the middle of a Chinese restaurant? They had arguments over whether it was really necessary to use torture as a technique or not; and if they had to torture, then what would they do? She… had a long range of ways in which to interrogate someone, not the least of which was to become their friend, use magic, or just outright electrocution. "I never thought I'd find someone that I can actually talk about this with; you're a weird one." Luther laughed. "Maybe; just means I'm different." She giggled. _You sure are._ He thought sipping his tea. It was at this point Ed stumbled in minorly burned with ash all over him. He went straight over to their table and pulled a chair around for himself. Then he dropped his head into his folded arms and groaned. "God dammit I hate you."

"That's nice; Chu? Can we get another water please?" Rowan called, the waitress nodded and dashed off again quickly returning with a glass of water for him and a wet towel. Ed muttered a thank you and proceeded to wipe himself down with the towel turning it a dull grey with spots of black. "Stop doing that to us, having to go save the people we were trying to get rid of." Ed growled at her the now visible burns already healing quickly. "I'm guessing regeneration too?" Luther asked. "Hm? Yeah, that too; Anything at all that is done to me just heals up and goes away. Unless whatever made it is still in the wound, then that means I have to pull it out or I die until it's taken out." Ed said giving a cough of ash and drank the water.

"So, are you going home after this?" Luther knew his half-brother was talking to him, and that he meant to where he lived, where ever that was. "Not really, if you haven't figured it out yet, I wasn't really legally brought into the US, being held against my will and all; you kinda need legal papers to have a home here. And I haven't really bothered to go back to England and say "hey! I'm alive!" yet." He laughed, but they didn't. "You've been wandering for eight months huh, what have you exactly been doing to get by?" Now that took a bit of explaining. "Um… well, you see…" Then the hanging television was turned on to the national news. The Main story of the evening was about the so called Shadow of the west, a man so fast and mysterious that no one has caught him on film. He is a work for hire, and does good deeds at the same time. He helps out law enforcement by dropping crime rates in the west by twenty percent in just seven months. Luther's head hung and he cursed in French. "Shadow of the west; Really?" Ed laughed hard almost choking. "It- It was what the locals called me… I didn't really work for hire per-say… I got into bounty hunting and apparently being able to camouflage turns you into a very fast shadow." Luther said with an awkward smile.

He was leaving out the fact that he mainly looked like that due to the fear factor that Jellal his rune weapon usually gives him while active. With two people who could sense magic, it certainly surprised Luther that they didn't at least acknowledge Jellal yet. "I'm a rune blade you idiot. If I don't want to be known then I won't, got it?" Jellal's soundless voice echoed in Luther's head for a moment, but he ignored it.

"Just how fast are you?" Rowan asked. He held up Ed's License. It was in his wallet in the back pocket which no one had touched until now. "Hey! Give that back!" Luther didn't fight him and gave it back with a muttered sorry. A girl walked past with five pens; as she passed Luther who didn't turn around, she then had four. He gave her the pen back and stated, "I think that's enough, anyway it was literally just to get by. I never thought it would go anywhere beyond my next meal. No one ever saw my face, and I generally kept my eyes bestial. I did my best to stay out of cameras as well. Normally I was just a random poor man with good looks buying a meal and staying in motels."

"Hero of the night it sounds like to me." Ed teased. Luther rebutted with "I am no hero, all I did was murder and maim for the first three months and then almost gravely wounded the rest of the time. _Heroes_ would catch the guy throw him in jail and be done with it."

"Anyway, getting back to the point again, you're just a drifter; ever thought about actually having a home?" Rowan asked. "Never really crossed my mind until now, I was always saving money on that account you gave me, using whatever I had after that for meals and room payments… and clothes. Honestly I didn't really think you'd be in America Ed. Until I saw that ad in the paper I had always thought you were still with family in Britain or France." Xavier came out cracked his knuckles. "You'd be better off saying that to me, he doesn't remember anything from before four years ago. I'm the one with the memories. Anyway that ad was actually for another guy who was trying to steal your identity a while back, I forgot that I'd left it in there and kept paying it for a while…" Luther laughed at the by chance occurrence then. "I did stay in England for a while; but after that whole thing with Uncle Reman, every single family member we knew suddenly disliked me. I decided to just leave since there was nothing left for me there." He then cracked his neck and spine, probably working out the kinks and then had another sip of water.

Suddenly both Rowan and Xavier straightened and looked at each other with pale faces. "Did you feel that?" Xavier stuttered. "S-she said she wouldn't be coming back for another three months…" Rowan said their gazes going straight out the window where it looked like a tornado was ripping through the streets but not really harming the buildings. Streetlights bended and curled and things seemed to turn… chaotic, in seconds. It died down only for a moment when a girl walked into the joint. Her blue hair and wild yellow eyes could be picked out anywhere when paired with her dark skin and colorful fashion sense… she was… colorful… "Darling I'm baaaaack!" Rowan stood and started to back away when the girl saw her and flew into her crying "Darling!" They tumbled breaking tables as they rolled into the back. Luther was about to get up when his half-brother stopped him. "You really don't want to get between those two."

"Get off me dammit! I'm not your damn darling!" Rowan growled throwing the girl to the near center of the place. "Aw but I did as you asked, I went on that trip the least you could do is give me a hug!" The girl laughed standing up and brushing herself off as if this were nothing. "Mana brings out the worst in her…" Ed sighed picking up the bill. "Hey Rowan! I heard a new lingerie store opened on the edge of town last week!" Rowan was gone. "Let's get out of here before she realizes- shit."

The girl had come up and grabbed their wrists and was dragging them out, Ed looking back and flicked his wrist to restore everything. They were five blocks down the street, Ed having almost tripped three times Luther decided that this had to stop. His hand slipped through her's and folded his arms when she stopped and looked back at him. "Is something wrong?" Ed was out of breath and looked like he was praying to some god with thanks. "Who are you to drag people around like this?" Luther asked. "Do I need a reason? 'Cause it's fun! Come on!" She reached to grab his wrist again and he took a step back. "No." He growled. "No? Why not?" She had the 'cute' puppy face on. It didn't work. "I don't know you. You're dragging me and Ed off to some place that I'm pretty sure neither of us wants to go to, and you made Rowan run away! What kind of friend is that?" She was actually stunned that her puppy face didn't work. "I like to have "fun" yes, but this isn't fun at all, you bull rush her breaking tables and chairs in a dinning establishment. Then when she disappears after you wanted to take her to a lingerie store, you decide to take us since possibly your only friend left because she didn't want to deal with you. I'm pretty sure that friends don't force them to do things they don't want to do!" He struck a cord. A car was thrown in his direction and he fell on his back letting it pass right over him. Then he popped back up to continue. "Do you have any sense at all about how others feel when you just up and do something without any thought or regard about how it could affect others around you? You might think they like it in that little day dream of yours but if you look around everyone here is scared!" broken glass started to fall all around him and he just kept going like it was nothing. "I don't even want to know your name because of this! If you are going to constantly pop up and ruin people's lives like this I hope I never meet you again!" Ed had taken the opportunity to teleport away leaving them two. "Who are you to even judge?!" She finally screamed. "I'm not judging, I'm saying what I'm seeing!" Luther growled. "If you want people to like you then don't be so overbearing and don't do whatever you want as if people are just toys! I'm not going to let you do that to me, or to Ed, or to Rowan! It isn't fun or funny!" He then turned and left her there. Anything that was thrown at him missed and any attempt to mind control him, as he felt that tingle in the back of his head, failed.

He walked back to Rowan's apartment and knocked on the door. Ed opened it and let him walk in. "You definitely have a pair to talk to her like that and then walk out unharmed." He said slapping him on the back. "She was doing something stupid and needed someone to tell her what she was doing wrong; I don't know how you can call that brave." Luther spat. "Where's Rowan?"

"She's in the back mixing potions and what not."

"Isn't that a bad idea considering…?"

"Meh, as long as she doesn't make a poison-" Ed ran down the hall and into the other room opposite to the spare bedroom and then fell backwards. Luther rushed forward to find him foaming at the mouth and she was standing there with a now empty vial. "Huh, so that's what happens, this batch is too potent then… I want more vocalizing…" She went back to a cabinet with a tabletop and shelves rising up; it took up a good portion of the back wall. "Why are you doing this?"

"For the fun of it; sometimes you just need a good paralysis poison to shut someone up."

"You mean he's just paralyzed?" Luther asked kneeling down and waving a hand over Ed's unmoving face. "Yeah… it would be better if you just kill him since it will take hours to get it out of his system; if you kill him now it instantly disappears and he wakes up in a couple minutes." She said bringing down some herbs to crush. "Are you sure?"

"He'd rather have his own brother kill him than be like this for some odd number of hours." Luther sighed and brought out Jellal as a switch knife and left it in his brother's throat for a minute, Rowan handed him a handkerchief to hold over the open next so the blood didn't just pour out. He was careful to cut the cervical cord in his neck. He stopped foaming at the mouth and his eyes dimmed for a minute, then he blinked and gasped, and that light was back. Xavier sat up and shook his head. "Damn you cut awfully close to the vertebrate…" He growled pulling off the cloth to show that what was left of the scar was disappearing. "Sorry needed to make sure I cut it properly." Luther snickered helping him up.

About an hour later the doorbell rang, and since Rowan and Xavier were busy with this alchemy, Luther answered it. The door swung open and someone glomped him making him cry out in surprise. "Hi there my new boyfriend!" He was stunned by that proclamation and the promise immediately flashed in his head. Something cracked in the office and Xavier cried out. Luther ripped, who he realized to be Mana again, off of him and ran into the back her prancing along with him. "What happened?!" Rowan was limp in Xavier's arms and a vial was laying on the ground shattered. "I don't know something happened and the vial broke, she cut her thumb and some of the poison got in her system, she's paralyzed now!" Luther went over and pulled her chin up; her eyes were open but unmoving, as the rest of her body was. She had a sad, if depressed, vacant stare and it scared him. "I can't use light magic at all since I have too little light in my half of our soul, I can't purge her… Ed's still out from dying…" Luther's heart flipped over; He didn't exactly 'love' her… yet… but he didn't want her to be like this. Luther looked at her face again and he thought he saw a tear start to swell. "Let's put her to bed…" He muttered, letting Xavier teleport her away. Mana as Rowan had called her grabbed his arm and dragged him straight out of the building before he could even grasp what was happening.

"Where are you taking me?!" Luther growled realizing that her grip was much tighter than before. "On a date silly! That's what couples do!"

"I don't want to go on a date with you!" Luther growled trying to pull her hand off his wrist. "You'll go on a date with me or I won't get rid of her paralysis." That made him stop struggling. "I could just wait for Ed to wake up…"

"That'll take hours though and I can make it disappear right now if you go on this date with me!" She smiled; he growled angrily that he was actually willing to go on the date if she actually did it. "You do it now, right now or I'll just wait for Ed! And it's only ONE date, no future one's EVER!" Luther hissed. She looked back at him and smiled at him waving a hand in the air and dragging him farther down singing. Luther was already mad because it was probably her that caused the vial to break. She is probably doing all this on purpose just to spite Rowan.

Mana dragged him down to a desert bar some streets away and ordered for them making goo, goo eyes at him and he looked at anything that wasn't her. He didn't want to be here, this was breaking his promise to her and he _hated_ breaking promises! He had his arms folded on the table, his hand showing a bit. He looked at the television for a moment and found his arm stretched to the middle of the table and her holding his hands. He growled and tried to pull back but she gave him that look that said that he shouldn't and he had to let it slide because she got rid of Rowan's paralysis. Mana's back was to the door so she didn't see Xavier come in and look straight at him. Discreetly Luther shook his head no with a very serious face, he can't disrupt this. Xavier went over to a table keeping Mana's back to him and would occasionally look to make sure he was still there. "Pumpkin~" Mana said sweetly, making him cringe. "Y-yes…?" he had to force his voice to not be low and angry. "Isn't this so much _fun_? I hope you like the tiramisu…" Her voice lowered to be a bit sensual and he felt like he was looking at another prostitute… disgusting. "Y-yes… it's delicious…" He'd only had one bite and lied saying he wasn't much for sweets, letting her have the rest. "This girl is bat shit crazy, can I please just shut her up? You haven't used me in forever!" Jellal groaned suddenly in his head making Luther even more annoyed. "Just shut up and go to sleep, we don't need that kind of hell right now."

"Fine, but don't expect me to obey you for the rest of the week now." With that Jellal quieted again. Luther glanced back over at Xavier who was still watching, waiting for any kind of signal to end this. "_Kiss me_." That stunned him, she wanted him to kiss her, and he didn't want his lips anywhere near hers or her skin. "W-why- Ack!" She didn't waste time, grabbing his chin and pulling him half way across the table before he stopped himself by pushing against the table to stop her. "Please?" Her white teeth looked almost as sharp as his fangs. As it was he couldn't stop his eyes from slitting from agitation.

Xavier stood and things went into slow motion, she was leaning in, he was trying to pull back, people were turning their heads… and then he saw her outside, watching. There was a moment of realization and a quick glint in his eyes. "No."

"I'm sorry?" Luther pulled off her hand and stood up. "I said no. I don't want to kiss you; I barely like you at all. The only reason I'm here is because you took away the paralysis; I had a date with you, but I will not leave her to the wind." He hissed quietly. Mana fell quiet after reading his eyes, and he went and paid for the desert and left. Rowan was gone. As he was walking out the door, their table being right next to it, he heard Mana ask, "You made a promise didn't you?" He stopped and hissed, "You made her cry." He made sure she heard it, and then left. He only looked back once, seeing Xavier following him out and Mana stayed there, no more chaos… just quiet. "What did you tell her?"

"Don't worry about it; let's go see how Rowan's doing." Luther said, no longer caring about that girl.

When they arrived again back at Rowan's apartment Luther knocked and went in for the door was unlocked. He did a quick check to make sure no one had broken in and then found Rowan asleep in her bed… but she was outside the… and she's asleep? "Come on, let her sleep… she barely ever gets a decent rest…" Xavier said pulling him out and starting to close the door behind them. "Give me one second Xavier." Luther said going back into her room and closing the door behind him. He strode over to the bed and tapped her shoulder. Her eyes rose slightly; she was there just not entirely awake. "Hey." He squatted beside the bed so they were eye level. "What?" She moaned quietly. "I want to change the terms of the promise."

"No, you're not getting out of it." She muttered her dull eyes somehow narrowing. "I didn't mean that, it's about what I get out of it, the sex is nice an all… but I feel like then I'm staying because I'm greedy, when I'm not. If I don't leave you, you have to promise not to leave me either." Her eyes opened a little more in acknowledgement then she closed them, turned over and tossed up a hand in a slight wave. "Sure… whatever… just let me sleep now please."

"I'm going to make sure we still have sex though, just as an added bonus." He grinned standing to leave. She grunted, then yawned and quieted again. Satisfied that she allowed that, he walked back out of the room and closed the door behind him. His smile disappeared as he turned around. "You made a promise with her didn't you?" Xavier hissed, as if that was a bad thing. "What's it matter to you?"

"She does everything in her power to make sure both sides of the promise are kept, you can't get out of it." He was not being really stand offish, rather he was concerned. "It's fine; don't worry about it."

"What are the terms?" Luther went to sit on the couch and Xavier stopped him. "It's nothing bad, don't worry about it." Luther smiled slightly and continuing past him. "Really; if it's nothing bad, then why won't you tell me?" Xavier taunted. "Why do you want to know?" Luther grunted starting to become annoyed at his half-brother's nosiness. "E-Ed keeps bugging me to make sure you're safe… so…" Luther looked at him with an amused gaze. "Dammit just answer me!" Xavier growled. Luther laughed and paused a moment. "She doesn't leave me; I don't leave her, simple." He finally admitted. Xavier headed for the door then. "Where are you going now?"

"I'm leaving you two love birds to yourselves." Xavier growled. Luther jumped up his face of pure confusion. "What are you talking about? I-"

"You remember how mum would sometimes look into the future for those that asked that of her?" Luther stopped mid-step. He did remember that, he would watch her as she took out the crystal orb and preformed the ritual. "I did that for Rowan after going back to the house and finding the orb still intact; the person who revised a promise so it was of those terms would eventually become her husband; and I'm more than willing to bet that you went back in there and revised it." H-husband? He'd only just… Luther almost fell on his butt from the shock. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that…" Xavier muttered walking up to him and waving his hand in front of Luther's mostly unresponsive face. He snapped his fingers a couple times and Luther finally shook his head and growled at him. "You scared the shite out of me!" Luther surprised Xavier by putting him into a head lock and giving him a nuggy. "Hey! Get off me!" Xavier growled back roughly pushing his half-brother off of him.

When Xavier straightened he was a little dizzy from the nuggy. "You aren't leaving me here; I came here to reconnect with my little brother. This is just an added bonus." Luther grinned again walking to the door with Xavier who this time was stunned. "Where the hell are you dragging me off to?"

"I saw a firing range off fifth; I want to see if you are still the best sharp-shooter." Xavier chuckled evilly, and it was as if they were talking together as they switched. "You have no idea what we can do." They walked out together laughing and making bets.

Luther came back around eight; with the door still unlocked he went in and made sure no one but Rowan was in here before locking the door behind him. The strawberry smell wasn't as mind-numbing as before and he thought it was because he had finally tasted her. She was still passed out on the bed when he walked into her bedroom again. He didn't really know why he went into her bedroom when he was using the one down the hall, but he couldn't say he much cared or minded now. He removed his shirt, thinking it would become uncomfortably warm if he kept all his clothes on. He climbed under the covers, and laid down beside her. His eyes shutting quickly, and for the first time, he didn't have a nightmare. He enjoyed sleeping; he hadn't had a normal sweet dream in forever! He'd forgotten what it felt like…

Then all too soon it was gone, the warmth had left him and he feared the growing darkness. His eyes snapped open again, him jerking into an upright position, looking around in sudden awareness. His eyes adjusted instantly to the dim light having become slitted again from fear and heard the shower running; what time was it? He blinked as the light of the clock hit him and made it out to be six o'clock. He'd slept through the night; that was another first in forever. Falling back onto the pillow he sighed, his fears were thankfully unfounded. He could relax and rest easier knowing that he now had his own dream catcher to catch his nightmares. When the shower turned off and she walked out vigorously drying her hair with her towel, leaving the rest of her body open to the air, he snickered and rose to help her. That wasn't really the real intention though of course, he wasn't really going to let her try and get dressed until he was satisfied and done with her… for right now.

When it turned ten they were out in the living room relaxing, it was raining for the second time this week. "It looks nice outside today." Rowan snickered looking fondly out the window. "I rather dislike it, makes it easier to lose my form." Luther looked out with a frown. "You wouldn't be so quick to say that if you had been from where I grew up." She laughed. "Really? Where did you grow up then?" Her smile didn't change but there was sadness in her eyes. "A place without a natural water resource, always relying on the rain and runoff… always in a drought; there… rain is a blessing." She didn't answer him, and he had a feeling she didn't want to. "Runoff means towards the sea… so… a coast state most likely…" Luther muttered and her eye twitched when she heard him. "Best climate would be the division line somewhere north of here… may be a state or two up… knowing the geological and metaphorical lines… Are you from North-" She was gone. The door in the apparent office was open and it sounded like she was on the computer. Did she not want him to know? Was there something wrong with knowing where she came from? He went to investigate, his own nosiness getting the best of him at this moment.

Last night the ball had been dropped about him eventually becoming her husband. In all truth that scared the shit out of him and his first instinctual thought was to hightail it out of there and never return, but he couldn't and wouldn't do that. So he might as well make the best of it and get to know this future wife of his. Luther stood and went into the back office. She was sitting there reading an article about how a scientist had created a new algebraic formula that would take the next Einstein to figure out. "Bull shit the answer's four." Luther laughed pointing to the expression itself. She looked up at him in question and then put a comment below the picture with those exact words and then exited out of the site. She then went back into the living room turned on the TV. The first thing on the news was about the anonymous man that bested the world's greatest minds. "My, my… now that was a funny chain of events." She laughed suddenly getting a phone call. "Hello? Yes…. No that wasn't me this time… well yeah I had already figured out the answer… No, trust me I wasn't going to intrude… you forgot to carry the two again didn't you Allen? Ok then, now trust me when I say it wasn't me and get a life." She clicked the phone off and put it back into the receiver before sitting down again. "What was that about?"

"You stirred up the entire genius society and their getting all uppity about their thesis about it being impossible being wrong."

"Sorry, it looked pretty simple to me…" Luther shrugged. "It actually was; the scientist made it to make a point that scientists these days over think things. Here look at this." She summoned a white board with a bus on it. One that looked very simply drawn from windows to wheels. "Which way is the bus going?" There was no indication of which way the bus was going in the obvious sense, the look of motion, and no lights on either end… "To the left?" He guessed. "Why?" He shrugged. "Well you got it right. But here's the thing, more third graders got it right then college students."

"Why?"

"Because the college students over thought the question, eventually making them just guess; the children saw it very simply. There is no door on the side of the bus in which we are facing." He realized it then. It was all about perception. "I feel rather stupid now that I look at it like that."

"Most of the college students did too. Don't worry, this is just to remind humanity, before you over think it, try to under think it as well." Luther laughed, not really realizing that he had slipped his arms around her while he was standing behind the seat. He was about to do something else when the door knocked, making him growl slightly and let her get up to answer the door. Ed stumbled in along with another woman and looked like he was about to shake his body like a dog to get the water off him. "Hey! Careful!" Luther growled jumping back just in time to miss the inside rain. "Yeah well, if a water elemental hadn't eaten my freaking bumbershoot we probably wouldn't have been soaked." Ed growled back. "Water elementals are not uncommon here, but it looks like you two got more than you bargained for. Was it a greater?" The woman was drying herself with a towel and then Luther recognized her scent, but kept quiet to listen. "Yeah, I didn't think there was another here, I was sure we got rid of the last one." The woman looked up at him through the towel and had his own reflexes not been faster than his mental reaction, there would've been a shuriken in his forehead.

Everyone paused when he turned his head to look back at it resting in the wall, after having swayed to one side easily missing it. His hand was then thrown up, catching a throwing star with two fingers. "Uh… could you stop?" Luther then asked after he dodged three arrows, a kukri, and a round of bullets. All of which were in the wall behind him and him just standing there as if nothing had happened. "How the hell do I keep missing?" She growled paying no mind that she's ruining Rowan's wall. "You're not missing any normal person would be dead right now, I keep moving out of the way." Luther said simply. "Then stop moving."

Jellal loved the thought of fighting this woman and nagged at Luther to draw him. "Dammit Jellal, I don't need you being blood thirsty too, when I need you I'll call you!" Luther growled dodging of all things a javelin. "Lyth, stop putting holes into my wall if you want a pincushion use Ed. Or go outside and find that water elemental again." Rowan said using her magic to remove the projectiles from her wall and restoring the wall to a whole clean surface. "Hey! Don't give her ideas!" Ed growled eyeing her just in case. "So this is the thing you decided to free instead of killing? Pfft, I didn't realize he would turn into a sissy boy." Ed instantly burst out laughing and Luther looked at both of them with an irritated gaze. "Sissy? I just dodged all of your toys and you call me a sissy? Would you have rather I stood there and let all those things hit me and let you possibly call me weak? I am not a sissy, I am a gentleman and I personally want to live." Luther turned his nose up slightly to her and then stopped her katana from slicing him in half. "Some gentleman; I bet you can't even fight back, all you seem to do is just let things miss you." Ed moved to intervene, and then he decided to stop this before things got out of hand. She went to stab him in the gut and his tentacles flowed out taking the place of his legs again. He grabbed her wrists with two tentacles and pulled them behind her, turning her around. Xavier was instantly displeased. "Seriously, please stop." Luther said pulling the weapons out of her hands and then pushing her forward so she stumbled and find her footing beside Xavier again. "Lyth keep going and I will call the asylum and tell them the deal's off."

That got her attention. She stopped mid-throw of yet another throwing star, and it vanished along with all the other weapons. Her unusually red eyes held some kind of hate, but he didn't know what for. She smoothed back her dark brown hair which was very short, almost a pixie cut, and straightened. "I don't care if you are insane in some kind of sense of the term; don't tear up my home after I invite you in." Rowan growled. Lyth shrugged and went back to drying herself for she stopped when attacking him. "Did you even bother to take your medicine today?" She asked. Lyth held up a pill travel case that was empty. "Ah, took it on the way here. That's why it got out of hand, it takes an hour to take effect."

"I'm sorry, I'm really missing something." Luther said willing his legs to return, and his pants were still there due to him getting his pants imbued with magic so they transformed when he did so they didn't rip up and he ended up naked from the waist down.

"Lyth, one of the two other people that were there at the facility I found you in, is mentally insane. She has only enough magic to summon any type of weapon that she wants. She goes on blood lust induced rampages at the drop of a dime, and was once used as the president's personal assassin. Which was before there was a leak and they had to cover it up by making her disappear, giving her billions to keep quiet. They sent her to the best institutions and eventually the highest security asylum which lies underneath Alcatraz island." That made his eye twitch; he's in the presence of someone that dangerous? "And why isn't she here now?"

"I don't like confined spaces." Lyth hissed.

"She made many successful escapes and many unsuccessful attempts on high profile people's lives; mainly due to me stopping her. I eventually made deals with both the president, and Lyth herself to let her have… mostly limited freedom if there is someone that can survive standing next to her keeping her in line. The only other person here that won't die, or rather can't die from her blood lust, is your half-brother."

"So you watch over… her." Luther forced himself not to call her a psychopath or even mentally unstable because he really didn't know what could set her off. "And you wouldn't believe how many deaths I've accumulated because of her." Ed sighed. "You're about as bad as statues." Ed turned and hissed at her, "Don't compare me to those! Had I not found you that one time when I did you would have been killed!"

"And soooo many people would be rejoicing!" Her features had settled to an emotionless gaze that made it impossible to decipher anything she was thinking.

"I don't know about that, there has to be someone that'll miss you." Luther said ignoring the sudden glances from everyone there. The most important was the one that Lyth gave him. Of all the things said about her, the insanity, the supposed blood lust, and the emotionless face; he saw something in her eyes that said there is something other than a monster inside her. "No." Her eyes held nothing but coldness again, and he felt bad that she felt it necessary to be like that. "Well that's a shame." He didn't let anyone know what he saw.

"So why did you come by today?" Rowan asked after they had mostly settled. "Those men, who I saved yesterday, they were walking out of the hospital after being treated for minor burns and a couple broken bones; all of them were gunned down. I went back and check on the others that I teleported, all of them; Dead."

"Their employer killed them, perfect…" Luther sighed rubbing his face. "I hate it when people clean up after themselves; I have newer scars because of a couple…"

"Who is their employer anyway? Do you even know?" Rowan asked relaxing on the lazy boy. "No, I don't; I really don't. I wish I did though… but I would have to send someone else to take care of them…" Luther growled. "Why?"

"They've apparently programed me to react to a certain sentence, which I really wish I knew what it was, and I will apparently just do whatever orders are given to me by the one that said the word… my file was corrupted before I could find out what the word was."

"Vsegda i navsegda ty moy, moy sluga." She said, Russian Ed knew, it translated roughly, '_Always and forever mine, my servant._'

Luther straightened instantly; his eyes dull, and an emotionless face much like Lyth's. "_Order's mistress?_" He asked in Russian. Ed waved a hand in front of his face and he didn't respond. Rowan stood and walked over to him, leaning down and whispering into his ear, which twitched and he fell back and blinked. "He should be fine now. No one will ever be able to do that to him again now." She sat back down and Luther shook his head as if he'd just been slapped. "Well that was a head rush, did I miss anything?" He groaned. "Not really, but it seems like a shame to have just gotten rid of that kind of servant." Ed taunted. "Shut up; how would you feel if you or Xavier has this problem?"

"_Had_. _Had _this problem; but yeah, I know what you mean." There came a crack into the window, and there was a bullet laying in it, the glass was merely cracked. A phone rang. His cell phone rang. It was a blocked number. "Like hell I'm answering this." He growled getting ready to toss it when Rowan snatched it and answered for him. She struck up a conversation in what seemed to be Russian as well. She then shoved it against his ear and he heard the words but didn't react. She pulled it back to her ear and continued ending the conversation with a verbal threat as well as a visual one that Luther didn't even want to bother translating; that was just sick.

With that over with Rowan removed the bullet in the window and restored it, and a building exploded some blocks away. "Wasn't McCreath hosting another poker night at the bar?" Rowan asked. "Yeah, he's saying that tonight is double or nothing, and wondered if we can have an early Oktoberfest."

"You'd have to talk to Vodka about that one, I've already agreed that I wouldn't try to make them myself when it's his recipe." Rowan shrugged not caring that they were moving to leave. "Are you sure that I won't have to worry about this anymore?" Luther asked looking at all of them. "Lemme say this. Rowan there doesn't lie, she doesn't kill without a reason, she doesn't harm without a reason, and she doesn't bluff or threaten, unless she had the intent and will to go through with it." Xavier whispered, popping in for but a moment. Luther flinched, what she had said he was trying to play it out in his mind, and he couldn't do it without him becoming sick on the spot.

Ed shoved Lyth out the door and closed it behind them, leaving them in the apartment alone again. Feeling suddenly insecure, Luther stood and went to Rowan while she was standing by the window, and wrapped his arms around her waist, and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Maybe you shouldn't stand near the window…" She said pulling the curtains. "I don't care…" He was kinda confused when he said that himself. "You should care… I would just hate to miss out on all those wonderfully evil things you've been thinking about doing to me." He blushed then grinned, pressing her back into his chest and nipping her ear as a tease. "Bad girl." She crooned at him as he scooped her up and carried her back to the bedroom. It looks like today would be just mostly a day in bed. _You know what? If things can stay interesting, and not end with certain destruction… and I get to stay with her… maybe this won't be so bad._ He thought pulling her down onto the bed with him. _That is, if neither of us breaks the promise._


	2. Chapter 2

Xavier was walking out of the sewers after having his half-brother and his half-brother's girlfriend try to scare the day-lights out of him since it was Halloween. It worked… somewhat, but he got into a fight with his brother Luther and now he really wanted to go home. He was going to teleport and was about to when his arms flew backwards and where cuffed together. At first he wasn't really concerned by this, but then he realized his magic had been nullified, these cuffs were made with an anti-magic metal! Jerking and straining Xavier fought back against the person that was dragging him deeper into the sewer system. They stopped for a moment in one of the older ones and his heart jumped when he saw that farmiliar face as well as tentacles. Of all the ones he could meet, of all the people he'd fled from. It had to be Sarafina. Terrified of the one that made him originally fear the race he drew one breath before she gagged him and screamed Luther's name. He hoped by some miracle that the echoing down here would allow it to reach his brother before something terrible befell him.

The group was still cleaning up the mess they'd made to scare Xavier when Luther's head suddenly jerked in one direction, his ears falling, and his eyes slitting instantly. Before any of them could ask what was wrong Luther dropped whatever he had and bolted down one corridor. "Luther! Where are you going?!" There was no way they could catch up to him when he was running with intent. Except maybe Lyth. It was happening again. He swore to himself he'd never let it happen again. He'd never ever again let his little brother be kidnapped while he was helpless or close by. NEVER AGAIN. Luther dashed down hall after hall, tracking him down by his scent alone, becoming more and more agitated by the second.

Xavier struggled, Sarafina was a terrible woman, she sold him to a group of male Tenta just after he proposed to her and watched as they gang raped him; she was the reason that he attempted to kill himself by mixing the magic's! He heard a crowd, and then several pleased hisses, and if he hadn't been gagged and blindfolded he would've been screaming. When he was put down the blindfold was removed. He'd been placed with all the young ones, and there were multiple of those damned tentas around him. "Dear~" He went pale at the words and watched as that same ring was put in front of his face. "It was just absolutely spectacular timing that you ended up down here. I'm going to be rich again, and I won't have to do a thing." He was going to be sold as a freaking sex slave… again. Xavier began jerking and thrashing trying to somehow get free but in vain. "Oh now don't fuss, at least your dry spell will be over." Her grin did nothing to calm him, instead it served to freak him out more. There came the final call and Sarafina hummed in delight. "Tata, love. I hope we can do this again soon." Ed was screaming at Xavier to explain what was going on, why this was happening. And who was that particular tenta to them.

Luther started to hear a crowd talking and hissing and- wait hissing? Finally reaching one hall he looked down it to see, of all things his race. Tentas and lots of them. Oh god Xavier had to be freaking out. Thankfully he'd become so agitated that the enchantment had failed again and he was now in his tenta form. Maybe he could sneak in. Settling himself into his assassin mindset as he would when getting ready to do a mission or Job and then strode the best he could with eight legs out and towards the one man guarded entrance. The creature looked up and hissed, and on instinct Luther hissed back. There came a nod of approval and he was allowed to enter. He saw a sign. It was an auction. But of what? Then he saw humans on leashes treated like pets, slaves, animals. Oh god this was a slave auction, and in all likelihood, his brother was now being treated like a sla- His ears twitched and his head turned the one on stage and took a seat in the back. This place was like an old concert hall but had been abandoned years ago.

A line of humans were dragged on stage and the last one on, jerking and struggling, was his half-brother. Luther wanted to so desperately to save him seeing his brother like that. Auctioning people off like that was sick! He'd freed them all; he just needed to wait for the right moment. Then the gag that was on Xavier slipped off and a couple guards tackled him as he began to scream, they dragged him off the stage with him kicking and bucking madly. Luther quietly slip backstage and was rather surprised that none of them saw him or even cared, he tracked down where they had taken him. In one room he heard muffled screaming. That had to be him. He peeked in to see a female watching a male straddling his brother who had his face just beaten in, and he was pulling- No.

His heart raced and his growl vibrated through the air. The male didn't even see him coming. Just a shadow.

Xavier heaved, breathing hard through his nose for air, his eyes shut, and hearing the screams as that male was ripped off of him. He heard each limb ripped off and every blood curdling screech and he dared not look. Then Sarafina hissed. "Who are you?! How dare you interrupt this session?!" He heard her suddenly choke, and then his eyes opened. Xavier grunted, and then his eyes widened from the sight. Luther was drenched from head to tentacle tip in blood. His eyes sharpened and his lips drawn back in a snarl as he held up Sarafina by her neck. "You took my brother, I want him _BACK_." Another grunt and Luther finally looked down at him. There was something in his eyes. Something that Xavier couldn't figure out what it was. Luther dropped Sarafina and went to free him. Then Sarafina struck back. She spun Luther around in surprise and swiped him, sending him into the floor with fresh claw marks in his face. She then grabbed Xavier by the collar of his shirt and dragged him out. Then the alarms sounded.

Holy crap did she have a slap. Luther was dazed but recovered quickly upon hearing the alarms going off. She was gone. And so was Xavier. No, not again. Luther dashed out with sudden ability with his legs and overcame the group of tentas surging to overtake him. He'd called out Jellal, his rune weapon, and it transformed into a great scythe. The last one fled in horror as he watched Luther slice each body apart faster than the last, continuously gaining speed and becoming more and more like a shadow. Blue eyes that looked red from anger were the only things that you could really pick out, and they kept this constant sharp coldness that burned when resting on you. And they even seemed to glow. There was a main light over the crowds that were now confused. Luther took a quick study of them and then turned Jellal into a revolver and shot three rounds into the light, causing it to flicker occasionally.

Xavier had been dragged onto the catwalk and watched in horror as a single one slaughtered his own kind, choosing who lived and who died. Sarafina was adjusting a stage light when everything quieted. Then the light came on.

Rowan had followed Luther the best she could, his speed alone was what made her loose track. She was however able to track him by the new screams echoing through the system, which led the group she was leading to the abandoned concert hall, just as the light came on. You could almost see the black aura Luther was giving off while frozen like a statue in the light and no weapons in sight. There were just mere patches of where blood did not lay on his body. All the humans had been spared as well as few chosen tentas who were leading all of them out terrified of the lone one in the light. All around him there were body parts. _What had made him do such a thing?_ Rowan thought leaving the group and making her way past the crowd of terrified civilians.

"He is mine! You cannot take my property away from me!" Sarafina hissed. "I know what he is, and you have no right to own anything that has to do with him." Luther glared up coldly, his head slowly rising. Rowan stopped just before entering, his sudden words making her stunned. Sarafina drew up Xavier and held him close even while he jerked and whined. "Do you even know who I am? Do you know who I am to him?" Luther growled, and she laughed. "I am his fiancé, Sarafina. Oh how he loved me, and then the night of his proposal, how kind was he to offer himself up for being sold to a group of our kind to be their sex slave for the night." Xavier cried out and thrashed, remembering that night, the pain in his eyes enough to madden Luther.

"You're the one that made him fear our kind, he hates us!"

"Oh I don't know about that, I can still see it in his eyes that he loves me; even let me keep the ring." Xavier shook his head no. They both looked back down at him, then the light flickered and he was gone. Xavier felt himself ripped from Sarafina's grip and set gently on the ground. When he looked up Luther was standing there just looking at Sarafina. Then fresh blood dripped down his chin, and Xavier finally saw the blade in his gut. He thought for sure Luther would drop, however he just stood there; eyes locked on shocked filled ones and just to make a point, Luther placed his hand on the blade and pushed it deeper. "You won't kill me while I'm still fighting for something."

Luther then pulled out the blade and twisted her wrist, making her cry out and let go. "Sarafina, you will listen to me right now. Leave him alone. If I smell you nearby, if I see you, if he senses you, and I swear to god if you _ever_ touch him again, I promise you. I will hunt you down and make you wish you never knew the name Danton." He then with a firm grip on the same wrist, took the ring off her finger, and threw her farther down the catwalk. "Get out of my sight." He growled once and watched as the female crawled away into the shadows. Once she was out of Luther's sight he turned and pulled off the gag. "You idiot! You'll bleed out and die!" Xavier growled. Luther opened his hand and sighed taking the key he'd pickpocketed off her and freed him. "She didn't hit me; I had accumulated some blood in my mouth from what had dripped down and let her think she did. Can't wait to get back and clean up, I hate it when I get shit in my hair." Xavier almost didn't understand. he planned that?

"These things are made of that metal then… guess you didn't sense what I did then." Luther chuckled and went around turning the rest on. The floor was covered in what looked to be blood and random body parts, but there seemed to be very few. "This is an old concert hall, so there would be props lying out. After I shot the light out I corralled most of the tentas out one way, and the humans out the other with a couple to lead them. All of that down there is fake blood, and mannequin parts. Though it's another story backstage."

"But I- I saw you…"

"You saw me waving around mannequin parts and letting barrels of fake blood fall over. You never saw the tendons of a torso split when ripping off an arm."

"And you never thought of using this brilliance when we were doing that thing earlier?" Rowan asked walking up a Luther was smoothing back his now reddish brown hair for the blood was drying. His tie got lost somewhere in the corridors of the sewer, so his hair was down. He shrugged. "Sadly this counts as being drenched." Luther laughed trying to wipe off the blood from his face with little success.

"That's it; you take this I need to take these damned gloves off." Luther growled dropping the ring he had taken into Xavier's hand and then used his teeth to pull them off. He held it for a moment, completely ignoring what nonsense Ed was spouting, and thumbed the ring before slipping it into his pocket. Luther leaned against the railing, and then they heard a snap. Xavier saw him slipping and tried to just use magic to stop him. He was still holding the handcuffs. In a snap decision Xavier reached out as Luther cleared the platform and managed to grab a single tentacle gripping hard to keep from it slipping through. "Ow, ow, ow! God dammit let go! Let go, that hurts!" Luther hissed wiggling a bit and curling the others around the one suspending him there so they didn't just hang. "You'll definitely break something from this height!"

"Let go! Trust me, I'll be fine!" He just caught Luther's hand entangling with some loose rope as the one tentacle slipped through Xavier's grip, leaving him to fall. The ropes tightened around his wrist and Luther flew under the catwalk out of sight, then there was a snap, and a thud and Luther walking to the edge of the stage which the platform happened to be over and gave a small wave with a smile.

Luther suddenly serious again as they were walking off the catwalk, marched up to the group of returning tentas which were thrown down a dead end. "You stop right there, and you will answer me." He growled. "And why should we do that? One alone against a crowd?"

"Because I have planted two high explosives one right in front of you and just judging the second is in the middle of the group." Suddenly they all tensed up and looked down. Rowan did a quiet snap of her fingers to make it so. "If you move it goes off, if you try to jump out of the way, it goes off. If I find you all to be annoying enough," His hand had been in his pocket and Rowan could guess he was pretending to pull out a remote detonation switch. Now it was real. "I blow you all to hell."

"What do you want from us?!" One hissed. "I want to know why you have human slaves! I want to know why you were having a slave auction, and what the point of it is!"

"It's to get back at the human race for doing _this _to our ancestors! To show them what it is like to be a slave again!"

"Uh huh, and it isn't possibly because you're just wanting bed warmers?" Luther snorted. "You can't tell me you don't want to do the same!" Another hissed. "No I don't. The man that did this to me is dead, humanity didn't do this to me; one man did. You all blame humanity as a whole for what you are but in reality it is one person or maybe a group of people. I can't say I might have had it worse than any of you, but I won't randomly harass, enslave, and kill people!" Luther growled. "Then why us? Of all the ones down here why us?" Luther's eyes sharpened, taking on that earlier glow of immense coldness and anger. He turned and began to walk to the other hall. "You took my little brother. I failed him once years ago, and I'm never going to let that happen again." Luther said pressing the button and dropping the remote as he entered the other hall. Nothing happened. Xavier and Rowan teleported back to where she'd left the group, which was at the end of the exit hall.


	3. Chapter 3

Things had become tense between Luther and Xavier ever since what happened Halloween. Luther could feel it whenever they were in the same room together. Neither would let their eyes connect, even for a second. It was a shame though, Luther wanted to talk to his half-brother, and have fun with this group of friends. But it just felt like he'd done something wrong and neither could even talk to each other without it being awkward. It might be that Xavier was now even more scared of him. Ed rarely came out, at least while around Luther, so he knew it was Xavier… and it hurt Luther for it to be like this. He had to talk to him.

The bartender, that was nicknamed Doc, for some reason was out today, and Rowan decided to close the bar early tonight, giving Luther the perfect opportunity to talk to his brother while they were cleaning up. He followed Ed down into the wine cellar of the bar and cornered him while he was taking stock of the red wine they had left. "I need to talk to you."

"No you don't." Ed said without looking up from his clipboard. "Yes I do."

"No, you want to talk to Xavier, not me." He mumbled. "Ok, where is Xavier?" Luther smiled in doubt and amusement at the charade. "Dead. Some guy backstabbed us and looted our body on our way here. Needless to say he was shocked and terrified to see me walk up, take my watch back and then teleport his ass to jail." Ed snickered while walking over to a work table at one end of the cellar and filing the report of their wine stock. "That's a lie and I know it. You reek of fear Xavier." Luther growled walking up behind him as Ed's aura changed for a moment. "It's not a lie…"

"Yeah, but I'm willing to bet that it was Ed who died." Luther said leaning against the table and looking down at Xavier who had stopped half way through signing a document. "What do you want from me?!" Xavier finally groaned when he found himself unable to finish his work because Luther kept interrupting. "I want to talk. Lately it seems like you've been avoiding me." He frowned upon hearing that. He had been avoiding him. "There's just been no reason to talk lately…"

"And it isn't because of what happened with your Ex?" Luther wouldn't let him drop it.

Xavier shivered at the thought of her name and felt the burn around his neck reminding him of the necklace holding the ring that Luther had taken back for him. "N-no… it's not…" He hated talking about her. Xavier didn't want to talk about what happened because it brought up more pain that he didn't need. "Just tell me what's wrong!"

"You're wrong!" Xavier finally yelled stunning Luther. "You're terrifying to me! What you did down there, the fear you put into her and me!" Luther's ears fell back and suddenly regretted everything. "I…I'm sorry I scared you…" There came a long silence, and Luther started to feel light-headed from what he though was grief. "Maybe I should go…" He stood and began to walk out, the light-headedness becoming worse as he walked towards the stairs.

Luther shook his head realizing something was wrong with him, his sight becoming blurry as well as his perception, and thought process. A hand rested on his shoulder and he forgot Xavier was still there. Spinning around he hissed, transforming into his freakish form, watching as the blurred form dart backwards. He shook his head again, trying to clear his mind, but failed, and he didn't even see it coming. Jellal asked him if he was ok, if he needed to drain some of his blood for him. Luther shook his head again, this time growling no. Xavier ran from Luther when he went beast, sudden fear stealing over him, but he could tell something was wrong with him. He didn't know when, where, or why, but Luther had been given something. He took a wine bottle in hand and snuck up on Luther from the side. Luther's keen sixth sense was poor right now, so when Xavier swung the bottle with great force, Luther didn't have time to dodge. He shattered the bottle against Luther's head with great strength, sending Luther forward, slamming to the ground, now bleeding from his head. He'd have to take him up to Doc now, since it was "Minor" wounds that Luther had, and Doc had to be of some use.

Luther's head spun with pain and as he woke he found himself being carried through a hall. He nose though dull now could still smell farmiliar smells, like sweat, and a fine wine, and something that scared him. Anesthetic. He jerked and bucked in the guy's grip, scared by that one smell. Xavier was just feet from Doc's lab when Luther came to and suddenly wigged out. He dropped him as he turned again, as Xavier had forced his legs back to being human legs again. "What are you doing?!" He growled as he watched Luther look around disoriented, and with a scared whine made a pitiful attempt to stumble back down the corridor holding his head in pain, and unwilling to remain here.

Everything was so blurry, and he felt so sick. His instincts though dull screamed for him to run and hide till it passed. His ears twitched and swiveled agitatedly as his eyes were wide and scared and slitted sharply. Luther's breathing was heavy and hoarse and he couldn't feel what he could barely make out. He had no sense of balance and constantly fell. Every tentacle felt weak and as if they could no longer hold any weight. The only thing he could feel past the numbness and blur was this piercing pain on the side of his head. It was the only thing that could reach him. He needed more pain, he couldn't even think without it. He'd rather be in some pain then feel numb and helpless.

"Jellal, do it…" He hissed quietly, his rune blade appearing as a switch knife in his hand. Xavier didn't understand what Luther was doing when he stopped. He was leaning against one wall some feet down the hall; then Xavier saw the pool of blood starting to form and ran to him. He'd stuck a switch knife into his stomach and was now bleeding from his mouth and nose. "What the hell are you doing?! You idiot! You'll kill yourself!" Xavier growled ripping Luther's hand away and keeping him from making it worse.

Xavier glanced up once and then stared up at Luther's eyes. They were wide and fearful and pained and worried and blurred. He could no longer move, he'd stopped moving, his breathing slowed, but he was still alive. He couldn't even die. That was probably worse than dying then just waking up remembering. Xavier swallowed his own disgust for his brother's lower half and hefted him over his shoulder once more. Now acting fast he left the switch knife and was running to the laboratory he was originally heading for. "Doc! Doc get over here!" He yelled throwing open the double doors and hurrying over to the operating table that was there, unconcerned of what Doc had been doing. "Vhat? Vhat have you done now-!" Doc jumped at the sight of Xavier's bleeding brother. "Oh mein Gott! Vhat happened to zis boy?!" He cried running over and quickly pulling out surgeon's string, a needle, and rubbing alcohol.

Luther jerked at the sight of the long shining thing just inches from him. Even though he was unable to feel it pierce his skin and the sewing close of his wound, he wanted to run. Unable to speak or scream or cry out, he whimpered, and whined, and jerked, and writhed, and cried, making his displeasure known. "Gah, I can't finish zis vith his moving, put his wrists into those bindings and clamp zem down." Xavier obeyed, but it only seemed to make Luther more agitated. He then had to use magic to hold down his tentacles to keep Luther from strangling Doc. Luther wasn't trying to keep anyone out at that moment and Xavier only peeked in before having to shut him away. Luther was screaming on the inside. Screaming for mercy and begging for a quick end or his freedom returned. Burning memories of terrible operations, there being constant pain and terror, and the sedatives being ineffective on him and the constant thought of it continuing again, more of the pain and fear he'd experienced there. "Doc, we need to blind him."

"I need to clean ze wound in his hair first, and then bandage zat!" Doc spat taking a damp cloth and dabbing his forehead. Xavier had to hold Luther's head still. He hated to hear the crying and now raging screams in Luther's head and watching the tears run down his face. Luther was snapping at Doc in his head, thinking of rather vicious things of what he wanted to do to him. Once the bandages were on and he was blinded, Doc refused any idea of Luther being taken home. "I still have to give him a detox for zere is obviously zomething in his blood."

"I can have Ed just purge him, Doc listen I saw…" Doc shook his head. "You may do zat if it'll help him, but I refuse to release a patient that is still in pain." Growling because Doc knew where Xavier would take his brother, he forced Ed who had woken on the way there, to take control and preform a Purge.

A purge cleans the body of all toxins and recent curses and malevolent spells. It turns the bad stuff into energy which is forced outward and turns into light when exiting the body through the pores of his skin. Problem is it exhausts the recipient and the caster, usually causing the recipient to faint. Luther felt so hot but he couldn't even sweat, he was so scared…and all he wanted to do…was go back to…Rowan and… sleep. Luther's eyes closed after quite a fight and Xavier was stunned by his will to stay awake, and not sleep for very long. It was only a mere half hour that he remained still, breathing now normally again. And then to Xavier's surprise Luther stirred, waking slowly, but then quick to jerk and fear and speak. He had to be gagged to keep from screaming madly, and Xavier worried that Doc's bindings wouldn't hold him. "Don't vorry, zese are reinforced titanium. I'm sure that zey vill-" Doc was cut off by the long spine freezing groan of metal bending under pressure. The first one shattered with a terrible ring, and then the other was ripped off its hinges and thrown past their heads as they turned to see the seething beast they'd bound.

Luther was blind with rage, but shuddering with fear. He ripped the gag off and tore away the thing blinding him. He looked at them and saw his brother staring in horror. He saw that man he'd killed standing next to him. And then Xavier saw his eyes. Xavier saw pure terror, and fear, and hatred, and rage swelling in Luther's eyes as he slipped off and growled animalisticly as he shot toward Doc. There was nothing that said his humanity was there though. He and Doc were frozen in place, Xavier by phobic fear, and Doc by shear shock. Then Doc moved.

Doc threw himself onto Xavier to dodge Luther's pounce, sending them into the floor, and Luther flipping flexibly off the wall. Xavier wondered if he'd purposely missed himself. Doc now had his back to Luther, clinging to Xavier in fear. _Luther was basically an animal, and responded to certain movements and actions as far as his instincts went…_ Xavier thought watching Luther look straight at Doc and not him, growling even louder and angrier than before. When Luther slithered up and made a move to rip Doc off Xavier, he turned them together so they were both on their sides, clinging to each other. Xavier glared up in warning pulling Doc close, who was now more confused than scared, and watched Luther's reaction carefully. He looked confused and befuddled as well. Looking between Xavier and Doc for a moment and then shook his head Luther quickly looked around for the exit. Xavier had to remember, that he not only gained his half-brother back… but he also had to deal with a wild animal now.

It was rather sad to watch Luther being so desperate to escape the lab, and being unable to since they had locked the three inch thick metal doors so no one would walk in and see Luther like that. He watched from where he and Doc still sat as Luther curled up in a corner and just stayed there, holding himself in a ball, like a caged dog. Neither of them dared speak, so Xavier used telepathy to talk with Doc without Luther hearing. "Zis… is mien fault…" Doc thought as he watched the same beast with Xavier. "How can it be your fault when I brought him here?" Xavier growled back telepathically, and mentally telling Ed to shut up because he was laughing about the situation. "Because I told you to bind him to ze table. How stupid am I for not zinking about ze effects of such torture over periods of years? He is afraid of zis place, ze medical supplies, and most importantly me."

"He doesn't know you Doc."

"He knows mien profession, but I zink it vasn't just because of that. I fear he recognized me personally, for I carry ze likeness of mien twin brozzer Daniel. Daniel, vas ze vun zat took him from your home and turned him into zat. He vas ze vun your brozzer killed when first let out."

"I knew the guy's name was Daniel, but twin? Now I see why he's so freaked out."

"And it doesn't help zat ve are in a place zat he deems only pain can be administered in."

"Jellal…" Luther growled again in the corner, his limbs becoming human legs again. He stood unsteadily, and the cold sharpness of his eyes could be seen even in darkness. "Jellal… Where the fuck are you hiding?" His hiss confusing them even more than he had just been mumbling in a corner. Xavier didn't know of any Jellal, or ever heard Luther mention a guy by that name. "Jellal, get over here now!" He growled; letting them think he'd gone coo coo until there came a rumble. The door creaked and then a window shattered as the switch knife Xavier had left behind in the hall flew in and straight to Luther who caught it easily. "You stupid piece of a rune blade, why didn't you hear me screaming?"

Doc was rather disappointed seeing that a rune blade was apparently a knife. Then the knife started to deform, and take a new shape, all the while Luther's aura seemed to be growing darker and darker, and visible. "This couldn't be how he's the "Shadow of the west" is it?" Xavier snorted in amusement as it settled into its favorite scythe form. "You know I can't handle you well when you're like this." Luther sighed walking over to the steady double doors and swinging the scythe once, cutting the metal easily in to scrap metal. With that obstacle out of the way he walked out and left. "He does know zis is a military base, ja? If ze guards see him vith zat zey vill open…" The sounds of bullets and chocked cries filled the air for but a moment, then silence fell again. "I think that won't be much of a problem for him." Xavier growled knowing that some rune weapons tend to run off blood of its victims. "Maybe I'll just teleport him home now…"

"Zat vould be vunderful." Doc laughed nervously. Xavier quickly went after his half-brother, leaving Doc to clean up the mess.

The scene outside was of some concern. The guards had limbs chopped off and some were unconscious while others were screaming in pain. But no one was dead. He had to quickly stop Luther from doing something worse for his freedom. He almost couldn't see the form past the dark shadow with glowing blue eyes walking down the hall to the exit cutting down one guard after the other easily. "Luther!" Xavier yelled at him, at the other end of the hall with Luther standing half way down and still two dozen guards between him and freedom. Luther didn't acknowledge him. If he wouldn't listen, then Xavier would get in his way; Xavier teleported in front of him, between him, the fleeing guards and his way out. "Luther dammit look at me!" Xavier growled watching as his half-brother approached. Not even the animal was there, it was like he was just a body walking. With no weapons on him Xavier didn't exactly look like a threat, more like an innocent. Luther finally slowed and stopped just a few feet from him, the scythe gripped tightly to his rather loose hand.

He just stared at him, no asking why, no conversation. Luther just stood there. "Look at yourself! I don't believe this is what you wanted to be! This is not you!" Xavier was willing to die again if he had to, to get Luther to wake up from this nightmare he was acting out. "You are an innocent." Luther replied simply, his voice cracked and forced. The scythe transformed into the switch knife again. Xavier didn't see him move behind him and put the blade to his throat. "I don't harm innocents."

"I'm not no bloody innocent you bastard!" Xavier hissed throwing Luther over his shoulder and back down the hall. Luther landed on his feet and walked back, unfazed by him. Xavier tried to telepathically force Luther awake, but it was like he couldn't penetrate the black aura around him. He then tried to rip the rune weapon from Luther's hands with telekinesis, and then Luther attacked. His speed alone was astonishing, surprising Xavier again, but this time Xavier dodged and tried to strike one of his wounds. Luther's sixth sense instinct was back though and Luther dodged, but not without the noticeable wincing of pain. Before Luther could recover Xavier caught the falter in the aura, but it was gone again before he could utilize the weakness. He also noticed that Luther seemed to be trying to just miss him, or he was stopping short, allowing Xavier to dodge.

Luther swung the now long sword at him, slowing, but this time Xavier didn't dodge, he let it hit. But that impact didn't come. The blade was just a hair from cutting into his flesh, but it shivered and stilled. Luther was standing still as well, just staring, and his eyes unblinking. "I…won't… harm…you…"Another chocked sentence, but this one was directly meant for Xavier. "Luther… just stop…" Xavier could see that the stitches had come undone and he was bleeding terribly again though that enveloping dark aura. He hated having to resort to begging… but it seemed that his usual diplomacy wouldn't work with him; at least not while Luther was like this. "Please… just stop…" It seemed like an eternity had passed before Luther finally pulled back, and his rune weapon reverted back into the switch knife for a third time. The aura faded, and with that so did his consciousness. His eyes rolled up into his head and he fell forward onto Xavier, unable to move another step apparently. "I just… want… to go… home…" Luther muttered before slipping completely away. It hurt to hear that. Luther didn't technically have a home… and as he could've easily interpreted it as him wanting to go to Rowan's apartment… Xavier was sure he meant their home, still burned down in England. "Xavier… I'll meet you at Rowan's, jus take ze boy avay." Doc said walking up and redoing the stitches. "He won't ever be happy to see you…" Xavier frowned. "Zat is likely, but maybe he'll come to at least tolerate me." Doc snickered.

Rowan was already standing in the door when Xavier teleported them to her apartment. "You're an idiot." She sighed letting him slip easily through and carry his brother to her bedroom. "Yeah, well, I didn't know." Xavier growled. "Did you know about this thing?" Xavier growled holding up the switch knife once they were in the living room again and Luther was in bed. "Actually, no; up until now I honestly thought it was just a random knife he just kept on his person." Rowan shrugged taking a closer look at it, seeing now the details that were before unseen. "He called it Jellal."

"You magic users are quite nosy." The weapon suddenly growled in both their heads.

"And you are a danger. What you made Luther do almost killed people." Rowan said swinging it uncaringly. "He won't let me kill people. And I did not make him do anything." It snorted at the comment, all as-a-matter-of-factly. "Then what was with the black aura and the strange switch in behavior?" Xavier growled snatching the knife. "He was imprinted to go into an assault mode if under enough duress or commanded to do so." It answered, having known Luther long enough to have figured out some things about him. "And you would know this how?" Rowan asked being the calm one of the two. "I was with him shortly after he left you apparently. We found out when I was separated from him during a fight with one of our bounties. Put under enough stress and he will snap, and he'll turn into a relentless assassin that can't even be stopped until he's knocked unconscious. That aura was actually me trying to suck away his energy so he would be weak enough for this fool to beat!" As it said that, its voice sounded like it was becoming desperate and worried. "Every time it happened, I would always do that to him, so when he was beaten the first time he'd wake up and be normal and we could then go back and get the bounty… He's scary when he's like that… but even while in that mindset his morals prevent him from killing anyone. And his fears." To put fear into even a rune weapon was impressive, at least to Xavier.

"So what should we do with you? Disenchant you? Maybe outright destroy you? Or should we even bother to consider letting Luther keep you?" If Luther was scary then Rowan was the epitome of fear when she said those words. It was one of her quirks… it was putting it lightly to merely call her sadistic. At times she was truly… insane. "Do what you want, but it won't change what's wrong with him." It growled. The glint in Rowan's eyes quickly faded, having a willing victim was never fun she thought. "You being the weapon for him won't help anything."

"He is a weapon. He doesn't need me, I cling to him. Don't assume that he wants me because he found me. I cling to him so I can give him the chance to overcome the imprinted behavior. You can probably do better, but I'm doing the best I can." It sighed, wishing it had permission to be in its roaming form, but his wielder was out for the count right now… at least he thought.

Rowan had just asked Jellal if he knew about any of Luther's other secrets when the sleepy assassin stumbled out as if he wasn't beaten from head to toe. "God damn my head's spinning…" He groaned being only half aware of the turn of events he was now facing. "And what happened to my chest? Who's fast enough to hit me?" It was as if he didn't even remember. "A side effect of the imprinting is that once he snaps out of the mode, he won't remember a single detail of the event or the reason it had taken place until commanded to regale it, or someone reminds him…" Jellal whispered to Rowan and Xavier only. It was then Luther suddenly realized they had found out about Jellal. "J-Jellal- shite, I didn't go through another one did I?" He groaned again quickly taking Jellal from his younger half-brother. "You are so getting put into the blue box later." Luther quietly growled before turning to apologize. "I'm sorry if I severely hurt or injured people while I was like that… I just want to know did I kill anyone this time?"

"Well, there are at least twenty guards missing various arms and legs now." Xavier answered as he watched his bandaged brother take a seat beside Rowan. Luther rubbed his face and sighed. "Well, it's could've easily been worse than that…" Rowan mused giving a pleasant smile. "Do you remember anything?"

"Not really… I mean… I have stitches and bandages… so I probably found myself in a hospital… I can't stand those places… or Doctors… I just can't bring myself to trust them anymore." Luther sighed. So that meant he didn't remember Doc? "Do you remember Doc?" Xavier asked. "The bartender? No… why, was he there?" He honestly didn't know…

In that moment there came a knock to the door and as Rowan moved to answer it Luther vanished instantly into the bedroom again, as if knowing who was knocking. "Ah, Doc! What brings you here?" She acted oblivious to his intentions. Doc was always welcome into her home as he was probably the closest to her of her friends. "Has he woken yet?" Doc asked looking at Xavier after greeting Rowan. "He just ran back into the bedroom when you arrived, if that's something." Rowan snorted walking over to the door and like mere air dissolved into the door. From the other side they heard her say she'd talk to him and then unlocked the door.

Luther had slipped into the bathroom to bath again, as he'd loved to do. He'd locked that door too, and again like the air and mist, Rowan walked through the door easily. "I won't let that _doctor_ near me." Luther muttered knowing her intentions, reclining in the hot pool with his almost azure blue tentacles somewhat spilling over like a waterfall. "Do you think you could at least tolerate him? I can't have you not being up to date on your shots…" She laughed sitting down on the floor beside the tub. "You can't change how I feel… at least I hope you wouldn't." He didn't know the extents of magic, let alone Rowan's magic, so for all he knew she could literally remake his personality into whatever she wished. "I'm not. But your brother is trying to deal with his fears, and you should try too." He looked away for a moment, his hand rested on the edge of the tub and Rowan took the opening to entwine her fingers with his. There was a slight flush when he made his decision and Rowan couldn't tell if it was from the heat of the water, him catching a glance at her, or his decision. "I stay here. He comes to me… I want to be blinded, he can't wear gloves, and I never want to be bound again…" His demands were a bit silly to her, but understandable. She was sure Luther wasn't exactly ready to face his fears, especially after what he did at Doc's lab at the military base. "And I want you to stay…" He looked away again with a full on blush, his grip tightening just a little for a second. Rowan smiled softly and nodded. "Xavier stays outside…" He muttered as she was walking out. "Gotcha." She smiled again, disappearing through the door.

Doc and Xavier were standing just outside the bathroom waiting. "Well, he's willing to let you do a few things, but it requires a bit of leeway for him to be comfortable." She sighed. "He's making demands for a fuckin shot?"

"It would be like you having to sleep in the same bed as him without any one his enchantments." She snorted making Xavier look down and away. "Fine, fine, vat does he vant?" Doc sighed taking out his medical gloves. "No gloves first of all." He looked at her as if she were insane… even though he knew she was. "But zat is unsanitary! Vat if-"

"You don't want to take care of a patient?" Rowan asked looking straight at him with a raised eyebrow. "Vell… yes…"

"He'll be blindfolded when you walk in so it would be best if you take it slow and silent." She unlocked the door and allowed Doc to go in. She stopped Xavier though before he could enter. "He doesn't want you there though."

"Why the hell not?" He growled finding the way he's acting being completely stupid. "It's what he asked. Not that I'm going to keep that one." She suddenly answered telepathically. "Hide your scent and keep silent, I'm going to let him tell you why." She said through thought before entering with him following closely behind. Luther already had the blindfold on, and with a bit of magic he wouldn't know that Xavier had put his pinkie toe in here.

Luther looked like he was about to have his arm removed the way he looked right then. He was blinded, and biting down hard on a rolled up cloth and gripping his shoulder with his other arm. Never had he seen someone so scared and unwilling to face his fears… besides himself. Once the small tube was in, as he needed a blood transfusion since he lost over a quart of blood earlier, they had to sit there, and he spat out the cloth once it was in. Luther kept the blindfold on as if he saw what was in his arm he was sure he'd try and rip it out. He still refused for Xavier to be "allowed" in to see him. "Why?" Rowan asked knowing that this should help things between them a bit. "…I…" Luther paused, the words finding themselves jumbled on his tongue before spilling free. "I don't want him to see me like this… He's already scared of me… and probably hates me now… I don't want him to pity me too…" Xavier didn't hate him. And he knew he could easily kill Luther with telekinesis and just snap his neck… not like he'd ever _want_ to do that though… He wanted to yell at him in embarrassment but he bit his tongue and stayed quiet. "Uh huh… and you're not just ashamed for almost killing him on purpose on your way out?"

There came silence and she continued. "You know before you came back, whenever Xavier got drunk enough he'd ramble on about things until it always ended with the thought of you and your parents and that day and just how much he missed you." Xavier turned cherry red and telepathically yelled at her for telling him about that. She shrugged it off. "Really? I would've thought he'd gotten over it by now and would've been laughing at me for all the things that he'd saw me as, as a kid…" Luther sighed his hands itching to take of the blindfold so he could see, but his head refusing the idea. Xavier never once criticized him about things like that, not even as kids. Where did he even come up with that? "No… that never seemed to be the case." She laughed. "You would've laughed if you could've seen how excited he was to see you again. He outright gave up drinking the days after you first called. Smoking after that. He just as quickly found out he couldn't quit cold turkey like that and water or soda just wouldn't cut it." He really wanted her to stop embarrassing him like that, but he was happy to see that real authentic smile that he hadn't seen in a long time. "I'm sorry if he was disappointed to realize what I am… I hate seeing him so… wary… around me… If I get too close I feel like he might have a heart attack… or if he sees me in this form he'll just try to kill me on the spot… I'm sad that I can't get closer to him… because there always seems to just be this gap that I can't possibly get across…"

He was about ready to leave when Rowan said one more thing that nearly made him blow his cover hadn't Ed suddenly knocked him out of the way to keep their body and their vocal cords still. "You know why he's scared of you right? He has told you?"

"…No… and that has always been bothering me." Rowan helped Ed keep Xavier from screaming his head off right there in her bathroom, alerting Luther and freaking him out. "I don't want you to tell me Rowan… of what happened to him…" He said after a moment, making all four of the people aside from himself go still in shock. "W-why not?" Rowan asked after finally finding her voice again. "If he doesn't want me to know then I'm not going to go behind his back and poke around… he's the only one that I want to hear it from." Things calmed, save Xavier growling and snapping at Rowan in their head. Then Luther frowned again, giving one last statement before Ed left. "It hurts… not being able to have been there for him during those hard times… and I hate myself for not getting out sooner and finding him… but I can't change the past…" That blush deepened again and Xavier immediately teleported out when Luther questioned the number of people that were in there. "It just feels kinda Claustrophobic I guess…" Rowan giggled, letting Xavier go now. "Maybe it's just me being paranoid…" Luther sighed, the transfusion had completed and Doc carefully and slowly pulled out the tube so Luther didn't over do the flinching, and patched it up real quick before leaving. Luther quickly pulled off the blindfold, Doc just walking out. "Wait. He's a real doctor? That sonovabitch." Luther was well and truly surprised, he didn't know Doc outside the bar, and inside he was just the bartender that just looked… unnerving, contrary to his personality.

Rowan remained in the bathroom with Luther as he didn't want to get out yet, or have her leave. "My body aches…" He groaned trying to recline a bit more in the rather short tub. "Well you did manage to rip off and out of reinforced titanium bindings, so I would imagine you have a couple pulled muscles as well." Rowan snickered. "He was in here wasn't he? My brother, I mean…You leading me on like that, it was obvious." He sighed thumbing the back of her hand gently at least grateful that he didn't say something embarrassing. "I'm not going to lie to you, yes. He was here." Luther just nodded and continued on. "Maybe I should just stay here a bit longer before trying to go to bed…" He yawned; a slight snigger was mixed in. "Take your time, I'm not going anywhere~" Rowan laughed. "Have they gone home then?" He asked. "Oh yeah, Ed couldn't wait to get their body out of here, and Doc had to go sew the tendons back onto at least three more people."

"I really am sorry about that…"

"We know." Rowan answered, leaning forward to kiss his head, to which Luther purred in return. "We know you didn't mean to even though you weren't able to stop yourself. You just seem to manage to end up in bad situations for you." Luther slowly cupped her face and kissed her, and where the water had long since gone cold, her lips warmed him. He kept pulling her closer to him, over the boundary of the tub's edge, trying to make her fall in subtly. Though he failed when she steadied herself with her hands, and pulled back, and she laughed, wagging a teasing finger at him. "Uh, uh. You're not getting any of that tonight or here." An amused eyebrow rose on Luther's now smirking face. "Just because I've a more few cuts and bruises, that hardly seems fair."

"Us screwing in a cold bath will not hasten your recovery." She tried to say without laughing from watching his feeble attempt to snatch her wrist to pull her to him. "I bet it would be hot again if we did." He joked thinking about using his tentacles to catch an ankle. She laughed, giving him a clear opening which he used. A quick tentacle curled around one wrist and pulled her forward. She was surprised, but more to the point that she was impressed that he tried. She fell forward into his arms and he quickly pulled her in with him, clothes and all. His other tentacles didn't move, and she was seated in his lap, half lying on her side across him. "Geez, now my clothes are soaked…" She half growled half laughed, trying to scold him, but couldn't bring it to sound upset as it did amused. "Then you could just take them off." He growled softly now nibbling her exposed neck. "And what would you do then? You'd do more than just nibble my ear." She snorted watching him already working to remove her shirt and pants. "Yeah, and?" He snickered, his tentacles now retracting into the water and entangling her. She picked out a particular one that had curled around her waist and then still had plenty length to dive down between her legs. "And where is that one going?" She half frowned, hearing him purring at the base of her neck, licking and biting her softly. One hand was free and she softly rub that particular tentacle with a single finger, which made Luther shiver and his low growl sounded more like a soft moan. So, he wasn't a _totally_ finished experiment after all. She was turned around to face and straddle him once her pants and underwear wear well and gone. He didn't even care about the wounds he had, having her right then was all on his mind. "You can try and pull that whole I need to rest thing on me tomorrow; I need your love right now."

Maybe it did do him some good; for once they'd had their fun Luther was all energetic and happy. They curled together naked in bed, Luther ready anytime for if and when she wanted to go another round. "Those stitches could've come undone again." Rowan cooed, shivering under the hand that stroked softly over her hip. "And you could easily just heal it up without me having to really stop right?" Luther grinned down at her, their legs entangled with the others and the awe some feeling of her soft curves pressed into his rather firm body. God he couldn't get enough of just feeling her, touching her skin and feeling her with just every sensory. He didn't entirely understand why, but he loved every bit of it. Luther's favorite thing to do was to just rub his cheek on hers or where he could. That was probably the animal. Maybe he had some cat in him. She was so warm and had a such soft small form, so delicate, but not delicate. She could take on the mountains and seas and fight the greatest of foes and still feel this way and it blew his mind of how. Lotion. Mere lotion she said. He had his doubts, but either way Luther loved feeling almost baby soft skin against his scarred body. "You're doing that thing again." Rowan giggled as he rubbed his cheek against hers. "Ah, sorry…" He snickered hugging her tight.

"Hey, what happen to that blade of yours?" Rowan asked as it suddenly popped back into her head. "He's in a box under your dresser. I never put him in there unless I'm punishing him by means of forgetting about him for a little while." She snorted once while laughing. "Well don't leave him down there too long."

"Nah, I'm too nice for that."

"Are you? Doesn't seem like it to me, what with nearly screwing my legs off earlier when I said no." She teased nipping his jawline when his eyebrows came together in a downward slant. "…" He couldn't really say anything to that as it was exactly as it had seemed, the entire time. He'd gone through a rough day and wouldn't take no for an answer when it came to having sex for his relief. "Thought so, now go to sleep, we both need a rest after this headache of a day." She snickered kissing him and then resting her head just under his, her ear pressed against his chest to hear the beating of his heart. "Let's just hope tomorrow will be a better one, eh?" Luther whispered resting his chin on her head and drifted into blissful sleep that they were both sure wouldn't be disturbed for a long while.


	4. Chapter 4

They were taking care of an anomaly, going down into a crypt to seal up a weak point to end spirits coming through into the living world and then go home. Rowan and Ed could take care of this but Luther went along due to admittedly curiosity. There was nothing normal about it, but nothing he thought he'd really have to worry about considering that Rowan and his brother were both strong when it came to magic. That is, until he was waiting outside and heard a scream and then being caught up in a whirlwind and left dumbstruck as a mere flash of red hair disappeared. When he became spatially aware again Xavier was looking down at him for he'd fallen on his butt. "Ok what was that?"

"That was your girlfriend getting terrified of something inside the crypt and running for the first time since forever." Xavier answered helping him up onto his feet. "She wouldn't get scared over any old thing; did you see what she did?"

"Oh yeah, and all things considering, it's definitely odd… at least for her."

"What was it?" Xavier motioned for him to follow and aside from the anxiety of actually being a rather scared-y cat and if something could scare the woman that feared little, he also felt a little safe since his brother didn't seem to show much concern for it.

They entered the anti-chamber and Luther looked around rather confused. "Ok what?"

"Look down dipshite." He shot Xavier a glare and looked down, it almost made him jump. It was a pentagram. "I don't see what is so scary about it."

"Neither do I, even if you weren't educated right you would know a pentagram is used in many religions most relating to paganism. It's not in blood but in chalk and it's corners are not reversed so it isn't related to Satanism which we deal with more than we should, but she isn't scared of that…" Oh how amusing and rather enlightening it was when Xavier focused in on the details. Luther noticed a spike in the middle pentagram and symbols encircling it. There were also four items; dried flowers, a bowl of undisturbed water, an empty bottle that was sealed, and a red candle whose wick had been burnt but not for a very long time. Luther walked over to the spike and inspected it, disregarding the warnings Xavier gave to stay back.

"There is nothing here for her to get scared of here…" Luther muttered his hand a fair distance away from the spike as he examined it. Looking away for a moment he felt a sting on his index finger and he jerked back. "You idiot! I warned ya…" Xavier's voice suddenly started changing and the flame on the candle lit without a source and the bottle was opened with smoke coming out of it, and the flowers were hydrated again and the water was rippling. His ears rang for a moment and he couldn't tell if he was just more alert or high… though he could guess he was high. "Luther…" He knew that voice. The head rush caused him to stagger and stumbled backwards, and massive gloved hands caught him. Every single hair stood on end and his wide eyes went slitted. _'No, he can't be alive, I killed him when he freed me, it is impossible!'_ he was getting ready to cry when he was left to fall since he'd lost his legs from agitation reverting them into eight long blue tentacles. Jellal who he'd kept in his pocket the entire time was yelling at him in his mind that it was a trick, but it was like he almost couldn't hear Jellal...

"Vat ze hell are you trying to do?! Luther zis isn't a joke!" That voice, there was no mistaking it. Luther trembled as fear turned into rage and he turned to fall upon his victim drawing Jellal quickly to strike. It was him; it was that bastard that turned him into this so long ago now, he didn't deserve to live. "I'll murder you, you bastard!" He screamed slamming into him making them tumble away from the center. With a hiss he swung Jellal to stab his neck but all he caught was the floor. '_Where did you go? Where did that traitorous bastard go?!_' he growled thinking, looking around the room with his night vision. "Luther vat ze hell are you doing?! Who do you zink I am?" That growl came from a corner, and he locked on with an animalistic growl of his own. "You did this to me, you turned me into this, and my brother hates me for it! He's disgusted with me! You did this! I killed you back then and I will do it again!"

There came silence from the man in the corner, Luther jumped to pounce again, but a force field kept them apart. He made Jellal become a scythe again and the blade broke through, but was now stuck and his tentacles held him there on the force field, hissing at the form within. Then someone else much louder forced their way into his head, and had he been thinking straight, he would've tried to keep it out. "Luther, stop it! It's me, Ed! The man you see and the person in front of you are two different people! You are being tricked!" The man in front of him was now silent, pressed up against the wall from fear, and he reeked of it as well. His scent- He recognized the scent. This wasn't Daniel, the man that turned him into a tenta. This was his half-brother Ed… He almost killed his brother. He slipped off the force field and sat in front of him with his head hung low along with his ears and held it with his hands trying to piece together what is going on. Then he was slammed to the floor with his hands held down and his tentacles held in place. "No, no! Let me go, let me go!" Even his own rune weapon had turned against him in order to hold his bucking chest down. Luther was terrified that it was happening again, being held down to be- "No more, no more! I won't let you do this to me anymore! I'll kill you! I'll murder you!" Tears streamed down his cheeks and his eyes wild from horror as he struggled violently to escape.

This was the most active and violent Xavier had ever seen Luther to be, something had to be wrong with him. Now that he had him more or less subdued he could try to correct the problem. Luther's heart rate was continuously increasing if he didn't calm soon… Ed had to do a purge here and now. If he didn't it would be likely that Luther would suffer a heart attack and die, bringing the phrase 'scared to death' to a whole new light. He forced Ed into control and yelled at him to do it. Ed was at first shocked, and then hurried to get it done upon realizing the same fears Xavier now had. All that Xavier could do was hold him down; he didn't have enough Light in him to do Light magic. Of the two of them only Ed could do that since his half of their soul was all light. Luther gave a final scream of agony as the burning light overtook him melting away all disease and any recent curses and spells. He'd fainted, along with Ed who was breathing hard for he could only do something like that twice in one day.

Now Xavier had to deal with his half-brother laying on the floor unconscious after giving full intent on killing him. They'd made a more or less agreement that if Luther didn't touch him with those tentacles, Xavier would not kill him on the spot. As it was that technical "Promise" had been broken, but under the circumstances… he'd cut him some slack. Also, he'd be crossing Rowan by killing him, and with the power and ability that she holds, he doesn't really want to try that. Even if he can't die, it'll still hurt like hell, and she knew what could make him crumble. Jellal sighed and thanked Xavier before shrinking down into a knife again and slipping away back into his pocket. "That is the limit of what I can do to help..." Jellal told him before falling silent again. Xavier forced himself through to take control of their body again and then forced the enchantment to return his legs to normal, and really the only place he could put him was in Rowan's apartment, and Ed might have to pull off a second one when they find Rowan.

The door was unlocked, even open, and the place had been torn apart, it was like a hurricane came through. Xavier took the time to activate the restoration cycle and restored the bed to lay his brother on. Then he heard movement from the office. If Luther had been this dangerous after that happening and it was very likely the same thing happened to Rowan… then he really had to be careful. Each step he took was careful and uncertain and once he reached the cracked and mangled open door he peeked in to see the office putting itself back together while Rowan was huddled in a corner with her head in her knees. She was mumbling to herself and was crying. The first thing he did, to make things a little safer, was throw up an anti-magic field around her. Then just to understand what was going on he decided to see what she's seeing and hear what she is hearing. It was… a man, a big burly man, with large welder's hands. "Please, I'm sorry… Dad I'm sorry…" The man hissed and growled at her, spitting words of fires in her ears, and hitting her even though she was unaffected. "You're a pathetic excuse for a daughter! You ran away from us, and left us to die!"

"I didn't! I saved you; I died for you, please!" She cried, unable to move. Another form took shape beside him, this time of a rather big woman with dark hair. "Mom, mom please… I didn't mean to leave you… I'm so sorry…" The woman didn't help, but only made it worse. Then more people appeared, surrounding her, making her want to scream. He couldn't let this go on. He couldn't let her keep suffering like this.

Ed had to move fast. Xavier forced her down as Ed walked up in control of their body and used the last of his ability for right now to purge her as well, she did a half gasp, but she didn't have the chance to scream. Then she was asleep, something about a purge just takes a lot out of both the recipient and the caster. Whatever had been done to them made them see and hear their greatest fears… Xavier picked Rowan up and went back to lay her beside Luther and then relaxed on the regenerated couch in the main room. Screw the crypt, worse comes to worse the grave keeper locks it up again or an investigation is done thinking someone went grave robbing and a couple officers go mad to where it eventually is sealed regardless. Ed was out cold from doing a purge twice now, and he was rather tired from everything period. Once things seemed settled Xavier went home. He had no business in staying, and he might come by again in the morning if he sensed that they weren't free of whatever that was.

In the darkness of that night, Luther woke slowly, he was alone in bed, fully dressed, and as much as he didn't like the feeling of being hot and his head hurt, there was something else nagging him. He looked towards her side of the bed and saw lights on under the bathroom door. She was trying to stay quiet but even without his enhanced hearing he could hear her hacking and heaving. He rose and carefully crept around the bed and tapped the door, where at which point she ceased any noise what so ever aside from running water in the sink. "You ok in there?" A stupid question, he could've asked a better one. Luther was also stripping off his jacket and tossing it onto his side of the bed while beside the door. "Yes, I'm fine, just… a little congestion, I'll be fine tomorrow." She called through the door; it was pretty obvious that she was brushing her teeth to get rid of the puke smell in her breath. "It sounds a little more than congestion." He said leaning against the frame after realizing that the door was locked. "Some got into my stomach and I had to get it out." She wasn't very willing to appear weakened… "If you're sick…"

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine, just go back to bed, I'll be there soon." He wouldn't do that. He stood there for the better part of the hour going back and forth with her, at multiple points almost begging for her to unlock the door.

His heart sank when he heard the fall, the lock clicked and he almost broke the knob wrenching the door open. She'd had fainted from high fever, just missing the toilet with her head. It was so late; he couldn't take her to a hospital… Doc…but he was a bartender... that apparently had a PhD… So, so late… Dammit he didn't care! He laid her out on the bed and took up her cell phone. It rang several times before anyone picked up. "'Ello? Who iz zis? It iz like two in ze morn-"

"Doc this is no time to be groggy, Rowan's sick and I need you to get here now!" That woke him up instantly. "Vat? Vat happened to her?"

"I'll tell you when you get here just hurry!"

"Put ze phone to her ear."

"What?"

"Jus' do it!" Doc growled. He was a little too stunned to not do as he was told. He put the phone to her ear and she groaned, and then there was a knock at the front door. Doc had hung up the phone. He looked between the door and the cell for a moment then dropped the cell on the night stand and hurried almost franticly. Doc was standing there with a medical bag his shirt lazily done up and his hair ruffled by having just woke up. Those cold blue eyes always startled Luther when they looked at him, but he wouldn't let that stop him. "She's in the bed room I just put her on the bed." Doc rushed passed him, but it was clear he was still waking up. Luther had come to tolerate Doc to an extent, but now that he knew Doc was an actual Doctor, and it wasn't just a title, he would forever be suspicious and wary of him.

"Frauline, you try my patience every time zis happens. If you are sick you are sick, do not hold it down." He growled taking her temperature, then pulling out a note pad. She was sweating and her stomach was completely empty save for the mucus sliding down her throat causing it to become agitated and making her cough. "Heat flashes… light coughing… agitation in ze throat… Luther go have some water…" Doc motioned for him to leave and he stopped himself from snapping at him. He wasn't overly pleased that he had to call a doctor, let alone Doc to come and help her in a moment of weakness. On top of that, she was trying to hide being sick; it was as Doc said, if you're sick, you're sick. Luther forced himself to leave the room… to go and get a glass of water. Doc came out ten minutes later; he'd smoothed back his hair using his own sweat. "She vill be fine, jus'… keep her in bed and have her take zese pills vun every six hours… If you manage to keep her in zat room for more zan three hours vhile zhe iz avake, I vill be amazed."

"What did you say to her to get her to teleport you here?" Luther asked watching Doc bring one down for himself. "Too terribly long ago… I vould prefer to keep zat to mien zelf though." He didn't really need to know, it was just a thought. "I'm going to have to call Vodka, tell him where I am now zince I jus' disappeared from our bedroom suddenly…" He paused to yawn, taking off his small rounded glasses to rub one eye. Luther was still tired as well, seeing Doc yawn made him want to too. "I vouldn't suggest going back to zleep beside her, unless you vant to catch a cold."

"That looked worse than a mere cold."

"She's suppressed ze symptoms for days most likely; zis often happens ven zhe feels zat it vouldn't not be good to appear weak. Which is almost every time she iz sick. Ze last time zis happened she vas found behind ze bar, unconscious, and bleeding from ze nose and mouth due to ze buildup of pressure, almost three hours after ve all realized that she vas missing and ze bar had closed for ze night." That was not a good thing. "I think I'll take my chances, she's not better off alone while asleep." Luther muttered looking back towards her bedroom. "Mind if I use ze bathroom 'ere? Haven't even taken a shower yet…" Luther shrugged; he didn't use that bathroom at all, not when he can use the master bath at his leisure. Doc took his medical bag into the bathroom. He didn't even want to know.

Luther relaxed on the couch, wondering if he should even try to get any more sleep in. He thought he'd just closed his eyes for a second, but when he opened them again, Doc was standing over him with an amused look on his face. His hair was a little damp and he was now wearing a fully buttoned white shirt, bluish pants, and light brown vest. He was also much more awake. "Half an hour mien friend, you vere asleep for half an hour…" Luther jumped, but held down the growl and sat up, blinking a couple times. How did he fall asleep with a doctor in the bathroom just feet away from him? He was getting too comfortable around him. Doc backed off and allowed him space to stand and stretch. His actions were followed by the man's studious gaze as he went into the bedroom's bathroom, and he became uncomfortable enough to lock the door behind him.

That warm water felt so good on him, but he could still feel those eyes on him, icy blue and so damn cold… it made him shiver and check multiple times. His tentacles which flowed out when the water hit him, curled from the tension. He seriously hated and distrusted doctors, and now that it has sunk in that he has allowed one to be around him…

After he turned off the shower he suddenly heard whispering. Someone outside the door was talking very quietly, and from the sound of it, it was Doc, and the conversation, which was in German, was only one-sided. He took his time drying himself, to listen, that enhanced hearing coming in handy again. "_A child, crying on the side of the road, looks up at me when I stop to see if she is alright._" It was in German. He couldn't be talking about when he first met Rowan? "_Oh what a scared child to fear any type of contact… unsure anymore of whom she is, and blaming a lost memory, but knowing everything and more… "Who are you?"_ _I ask over and over… and all I receive is… "I don't know anymore." I ask over and over, "Who is your mother? Who is your father?" You answer "I don't know. I don't know." Child… the one that's in the most pain… the one that has the most fear… who are you…?_" He quieted and it was at that point Luther was mostly dry and had his clothes back on, that he walked out. From the back Doc didn't seem startled. When he turned around however it was a different story.

It was obvious that he worried that he heard, and he started to say something when Luther cleaned out his ears and said, "Come again?" pretending that he didn't have that good of hearing while the water was in them, which they both probably knew was bullshit. "Ja… uh… I came to check on her, zhe vas avake for just a moment…" He was looking for an excuse to get out of there. "You look like you need coffee… I probably do too." Luther said waiting for him to catch on and go out before him. "Ah… yes, coffee!" Good he wasn't too blunt in the morning to be a little quick. He also had a good sense about him since he managed to copy the entire file on him while in the facility before it became corrupted and inevitably deleted. Doc knew his distrust of him, and he knew that like all of them within this circle, Luther was extremely intelligent, and extremely dangerous. Doc waits patiently with Luther, knowing that there is a possibility that he could never trust him entirely ever due to his past, and he was truly lucky to be an exception. Luther made the coffee, and thank god he figured out where she kept things. Doc walked into the back one time and he heard the conversation he had with his partner Vodka, and some of the things that were said…he really didn't want to think about or even to try translating…

Then Ed decides to call a ten, and Luther really didn't want to talk to him right now. "Yes, yes, we're… mostly fine… but you're really calling right now to ask Rowan about bar duty tonight?" Luther snorted. "It's good to hear you're well but this does need to be taken care of, please just give her the phone."

"Sorry, she's actually still asleep right now." Doc just came out having given her another dose of medicine and had made it clear sometime earlier and during his phone call with Vodka that he wasn't going to leave her alone at least for today. "Zhe vas conscious again, but only long enough to take ze medicine and get mad at me for making her teleport me again…" He muttered, but it was loud enough for Ed to hear and he instantly became upset. "Is she sick again? But how? Why- How many weeks did she suppress it this time?" Doc interrupted him before he could say anything. "It vas only a couple days actually." There came a sigh of relief before Ed continued. "That's something at least. Where did you find her this time?"

"She was in the bathroom still puking when I woke up, the door only unlocked when she finally fainted." Luther said.

"At least she wasn't near an open icebox."

"_What?_"

"N-nothing." Both Doc and Ed said that together. They both knew that he'd probably freak if he found out all the places she'd managed to squirm into by the time she was twenty-one, it would be best if they just kept it quiet, at least until Rowan tells him herself. He knew as well that they were wary of this aspect of him and knew it would be best if he let it slide. "Crap, this means that Aaron'll be doing double the tables tonight."

"You get to tell him Ed." Doc sneered taking a quick rummage through his medical bag before closing it again.

When it turned four in the afternoon, Rowan woke and kept trying to move about with limited success due to both Doc and Luther's efforts. She didn't quiet wish to talk about the night before. She went to the bathroom, took a shower, put on fresh, clean clothes, and that was about it. She became annoyed when Luther insisted that he make her food and she stay in bed, and Doc successfully argued that if she tried to do anything in this state she would be rendered unconscious again in a matter of forty-five minutes and be out for another day or so. Luther had forgotten to put away his journal, which he'd kept ever since he was free from the facility almost a year and a half ago, which he left on the nightstand she'd allowed him to use due to the circumstances. He walked in on her reading it, and instantly became defensive. "You're the one that left it in the open. I was bored."

"Yes, that was an accident, but really wouldn't you have thought to look at the front page for my name, and maybe thought you shouldn't go through it?"

"Yes, I did. In fact I specifically waited until you came in to start turning pages; I haven't even focused enough to read anything yet." She closed it and tossed it to him in utter boredom. He was rather surprised that he wasn't surprised by what she claimed. "Honestly had I wanted to I would've either finished reading the journal in the three minutes before you walked in, or I would've simply went into your mind while you were asleep." And then there was that blunt honesty. Aside from the stuffed nose, and rough voice, and occasional coughing, she acted as though she were fine. "You've probably done at least one already." Luther sneered, putting the journal into the drawer of the nightstand and closing it. She opened her mouth to rebuttal, but then closed it again, apparently finding it unnecessary. Rowan ate what she could and then went to sleep again, Luther waiting till after she was sleep to leave with the dirty dishes.

He walked out and Doc was humming a tune, one he didn't know where it came from, but he did recognize it. He didn't exactly remember from when or where but it was farmiliar. Luther stared for a moment, dumbstruck, then remembered the dishes and went to clean them and put them away. He kept hearing the tune in his head, and it scared him, he didn't know why… once the dishes were put away he went and relaxed in the lazy boy, trying to figure out from where he'd heard that tune before. Then German lyrics filled the air, and he suddenly remembered. The song that was sung as he was taken away; every moment he ever spent awake. Every detail burned into his brain and still forgotten. "What song is that?" He tried to ask without leaping onto him and strangling him. "A song zat mien mozzer used to sing to me and my brozzer as children. It vould help us go to sleep at night." Doc said rather contently. "Your brother?"

"Ja… mein brozzer… identical twins… and yet ve vere never more different…" He suddenly saddened. "He sang it to you vhile you vere zere didn't he?" He didn't look scared, or sick, just sad as he leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.

Of all the people he'd given exception to, the twin brother of the man that did this to him had to be one? Great. "I should probably tell you zis before you try to kill me… I vas zere zat night to kill him." That… "Why?" The anger was gone, the fear was gone. He was there to kill his twin, and that stunned Luther enough to need to know why more than he needed to hurt him. "His ethics… vere not good. You vere an experiment… but not ze final product. Hiz vife… Angelina… a beautiful voman… love can make you do ze most unimaginable zings… zhe vas dying from an unknown cause… and he zought zat if he could remake DNA… zat he could zave her… but by ze time you vere completed… zhe vas already lost." There was always a story behind the story, Luther thought listening quietly. "I never in mien many years wanted to kill anyone… at least not anymore… zen mein brozzer does it to blow off zteam and use zeir corpses as lab rats. He vas not sane anymore… he could no longer live. I vas villing to break my vows of pacifism just once. But you spared me zat pain." He felt kinda bad… he knew that every person that he ever killed, had once had a family and possibly still did, though after a while your heart hardens and you no longer think about it… except on occasions like this. "I do not blame you, nor do I hate you in any vay for killing him. Daniel had long zince forgotten who he vas, and he vas no longer mien brozzer." He still felt like he should apologize. He wanted to know more. About that man. He didn't care if it would've been strange to ask about the man that turned him into a monster, the man that he killed. But at the same time he had enough heart to be wary of asking, fearing what he might do in return.

Doc pulled out a locket, and opened it. "Zat vas Angelina. And zat vas mein brozzer before all zat happened." He tossed it to him and Luther caught it delicately. She was very beautiful. Long brown hair, soft brown eyes… "I vas razzer jealous mein zelf vhen he proposed to her; but zen again zat vas also before I realized that I vasn't zat kind of man." He snickered losing himself in memories of a better time. Luther stared at the picture, but only for a moment, then he caught a glimpse of the man's face and closed it tossing it back to Doc. "He didn't look like that when I got out…"

"I vould zink not, I couldn't find hiz face vith how badly you tore him apart."

"Not what I meant." Luther growled repositioning himself suddenly becoming a little uncomfortable. "I know. He had received many scars over ze course of time zat you spent in zat place. Not ze least of vhich vas his left eye vhen you clawed it out ze vun time you managed to get free vhile he vas operating on you." He didn't remember that. "You likely don't remember zey administered a serum zat vould induce amnesia every time…" He got that right.

"Your vow of… pacifism…" Luther muttered glancing at Doc. "Taken originally as a suggestion, and zen mandatory, I vas vun of ze vuns zat pushed it to be mandatory, even vith ze knowledge zat ze best you can do for vun in need is to get rid of ze problem… Daniel said it vas stupid. How wrong he vas." Doc shrugged and stuffed the locket back into where he was keeping it. After a moment of silence it seemed as if he were asleep. Why would the guy the he doesn't overly like and have the willingness to kill at any given moment just go to sleep near him? He didn't make much sense. Then again, neither did he himself make much sense. "You are not an animal." Those words startled him. "W-what?" It looked like he'd just woken up again but was completely still, no movement in his features, his eyes were just open. "I might be jus' a normal human. But I know vat people are zinking by knowing them. You've hated yourself for longer zan jus' ze year or so zat you have been free, and for more than jus' being what you are. I von't ask; Not mein place. But I do know zat regardless you are disgusted vith your form. Many who's DNA has been tampered vith and turned into something other zan human… go inzane."

The thought of Insanity in his head was not unknown… he definitely wasn't all there for a good portion of the first few months, then he just seriously hated himself and wanted to die… and now… he's just disgusted with it. "Sadly to be amongst us you vould have to be insane."

"Why do you say that?"

"For even if no vun admits it. Ve are all insane to a certain degree. Even Rowan. Especially Rowan." His quickness to correct his accusation was… unsettling. "You're saying that she's went mad before."

"I never said zhe recovered." Doc said leaning forward and finishing his coffee. "How could she be insane? I have never seen her-"

"She has her moment's ven it slips through." Luther remembered when she could overdo it sometimes. The fear factor, the torturing of other people. "Zat is not to say she is also sane. Insanity is… vell kind of like a pressure gage, it jus' keeps going around and around… and after a certain point, you have reached a level of insanity that you are once again sane. It is not even like periods. You just keep becoming more and more insane before finally… you either are sane ven it stops… or you are insane. I have not even ze slightest idea vhere zhe vill land." That was… an interesting notion… to say the least. "I'm jus' rambling now; many worries of an old man…" Let's leave it at that.

Doc left to go check how the bar was doing, leaving Luther to give her another dose of medicine. "Here, take this…" He felt sick just looking at that horse pill. "I hope Vodka can handle the dinner rush without me…" She'd finally given up on moving about at all. "He'll be fine I'm sure." Luther said. "I could…"

"No, don't even think about trying. You're sick so you have to stay in bed and get plenty of rest."

"You sound like my father." He flashed back to when he had just walked out of the shower and heard Doc talking… "Your Father must've cared about you very much." When she realized what she had said, Rowan turned over and said, "Yes… he did. I'm tired now." She didn't want to talk about him so that had to have been a slip. Luther sighed, thinking it would not have been best to try and pursue that a bit more, and lay down beside her. "You'll get sick too."

"Like I care."

"I do."

"I know, but how can I sleep without my dream catcher?" She snickered a little, and he watched her fall asleep again. He knew that if she woke up while he was asleep than she'd be free to do what she wanted, at least for a few minutes. This will be the only time I'll let this happen. Luther thought willing his tentacles to flow out and entangle her in them. He wrapped his arms around her, allowing only one arm free, and settled down to let the tiredness take hold of him.


	5. Chapter 5

Luther didn't think he'd ever have a relationship that lasted longer than two weeks and three days. To his surprise though, the one that he had with Rowan, that wonderfully smart sexy red head, had flown by and he found it to be three months later. And Christmas right was right around the corner. He really didn't know what to get for his half-brother Ed, and Rowan. Everyone else was secondary. He and Rowan were lounging in _her_ apartment, as it had been snowing all week. She had given him a very nice pale blue turtleneck sweater to wear. It wasn't made of cotton, which was wonderful, and he didn't have the problem with his gills becoming constricted and him feeling claustrophobic. "I kinda wanna go to England or France for Christmas…" Rowan started mumbling watching the news.

She almost never watched TV unless someone else was watching something, or if it was the news. "Then again Xavier still bitches about going to England… every single chance in fact… it's not like I want to meet his freaking grandmother…" She spat; a distant look fell on her features for a moment. He silently listened; he could understand Xavier's displeasure for going back to his birth place. They both had old ghosts there… some they prayed would never resurface again. "What do you think? Would you like to go to England or France for Christmas? Luther?" He snapped out of his daze and glanced up at her from the couch. "Hm? Oh… uh… I think it would be nice to go to either… but I don't really care enough as to which one… so long as you're happy with the decision." He muttered. Luther never had to be very considerate for other people all that much so it was hard to remember adding that little bit on the end. That he made sure she felt important… though it didn't really seem like she noticed it all that much, but that also didn't seem to be a sign that said he should stop.

"Ok, France it is." How did she get France out of he didn't really care? Luther sighed and gave a small chuckle before settling back into the couch and his eyes drifting shut. He felt something hit him in the gut. Having felt this before he opened one eye to see Rowan lying on top of him. Her head was on his chest and she was gazing out the windows at the snow as her eyes started to drift shut as well. Luther smiled and rested a hand on her lower back and folded the other behind his head, closing his eyes again. Just because he was the sneaky type didn't mean he wasn't willing to cuddle and do sweet things like this; in fact he loved moments like these. He didn't care much about the sex. Even though he literally needed it almost as often as possible just to stay sane and in control of himself, he didn't want just that, and she knew that. Others that he had tried to let in and get close to him… to try and have them love him, were terrified of his true form; they thought him disgusting and twisted, and revolting. In truth that wasn't too far from the truth… his waist down were eight long blue tentacles that he'd had Rowan enchant shortly after being saved, so he could at least look like a normal human. He had elf ears for all intents and purposes. As well as shark teeth and claws that he could sharpen and dull, and his eyes that slitted to look like cat eyes. Of course the enchantment didn't work when he was drenched, agitated or aroused… and only Rowan knew about the arousal part. She was the first person to keep him smiling, to remind him that there was good in the world, and she didn't fear his true form. He had fallen in love with her even before seeing her again when returning to reunite with Ed after so long. And it made him jump for joy to know that she also loved him. They hadn't admitted it yet to anyone else or even to each other that they _loved_ each other. Even though it was clear that everyone else knew… They weren't exactly open about it, but the group was tight-knit enough to know when there was a change in personality, and when one is in a relationship.

Luther's mind started to drift, pondering on just how Anglicized or Americanized that his accent was while speaking French. Then again, he was programmed to have down the accents of all languages he knew… Did he even have any family in France still? He didn't really remember mother ever taking him to see a grandmother or grandfather… and his bastard of a biological father was dead as far as he knew. He didn't remember cousins or any aunts or uncles really… His last thought was if he even wanted to find any other family that was still alive and out there…

His dreams were worrisome; filled with memories that he'd suppressed, of times long before Ed was ever born… his mother had been thrown to the floor beaten and old bruises had reopened. A large shadow of a horrible thin man extended over her, and then she was dragged back into the other room as he began to cry. He heard her crying, the sounds of things breaking, and then a 'guff' as he saw the head and arm of the man fall through the exit. Scarlet stained the floor as his mother ran to him and fled with him in her arms. The sounds of police cars echoed behind them, and then he woke. He'd cried… it's been months since he'd cried in his sleep; Rowan had woken to his whimpering and pulled herself up and try and calm him. "Are you ok? Did you have those nightmares again?" She asked relieved that he finally woken up. "Y-yeah… I'm fine… and no it wasn't those again… just something from even longer ago. Don't worry about it…" He said sighing, pulling her chin up for a kiss, pleased that she worried about him. His heart was pounding, but not from fear, he'd grown up hating his biological father. He'd protected Ed everyday as a child from knowing the pain that they had endured with that bastard. He didn't have to worry about him. He never again had to worry about that man finding him he thought. He was dead and gone. He couldn't even call him a father; he didn't remember anything to that man that warranted calling him _Dad_. "Are you sure…? You're becoming agitated…" his tentacles hadn't come out yet, so that meant that his eyes had slitted or his fangs and claws extended. Turns out it was both.

"Yes, I'm sure…what time is it?" he looked over at the clock and saw it was a little past six. "My, we were asleep for a while…" She knew this was his subtle way of getting off the subject. He had always somehow had enough luck for the time to be right around breakfast, lunch, or dinner. He wasn't getting away this time; she didn't like seeing him afraid to speak and crying about something. She pinned him and when he moved a hand to push her off she bit him. "Ow! Hey what was that for?!" Luther growled, knowing in the back of his mind that everyone is nosy in everyone else's business. Especially when it's her and himself, trying to dig into each other's past. "Please tell me what's wrong." She said plainly even though she had him in a pretty awkward position. She was sitting on top of him, the hymn of her pants lining up perfectly with his, and it didn't help that she had leaned forward to pin his arms, giving him a pretty nice view. "I really don't want to… i-its water under the bridg-" She leaned forward and pulling down his turtleneck with her chin and using her teeth gently pulling on one of gills making him gasp and jerk. "Oh god, stop that!" She didn't budge, or even let go. "Dammit, stop teasing me!" he growled starting to wiggle anything he could, but that turned out to be bad as well. The look in her eyes said _you know what to do_. He growled again, if she didn't let go soon he would do something he really didn't want to do to her.

"Ok, ok! Just stop this!" By then it was already too late, he was hot and wanting, and as she moved to get up he flipped them around, his tentacles flowing out and intertwining around her legs and waist. He bit down on her neck for just a moment, just to say that he didn't appreciate that and proceeded to begin stripping her. Talking about it didn't reduce his need. "It was about my father…" He pulled her shirt off and breathed in her scent on her neck. "You mean yours and Ed's?" She didn't really stop him, rather she chuckled; she probably knew this would be the outcome. "No… _my_ biological father…" He paused when he reached around to undue her bra. "Never tell Ed. He doesn't need to know that his brother was the son of a bastard." He didn't let it get to him, and after pulling off her bra he leaned down and began to suck. She moaned and pulled off the tie to his hair and ran her fingers through it. "You've been protecting him…" He really wanted her to stop talking, stop pushing, and he tried with sneaking a hand under her and stroked her back and tugging hard on her nipple giving a quiet growl. She gasped, then groaned, then continued to his disappointment. He pulled up for a moment to continue talking before starting on her pants. "He didn't love our mother. He didn't even care that I was born; he beat her every day and if I didn't stop crying everytime he would attempt to beat me. But mom wouldn't allow that." He flipped open the button and unzipped her pants, slowly pulling them down, leaving kisses trailing down her stomach. She'd thankfully pulled the curtains with her magic before starting this, so they didn't have an audience.

"What happened to him…?" She asked gripping the couch when he wandered down to a very sensitive, very intimate area. Luther paused one last time before sticking out his tongue and using his teeth to tease he clit. "He's dead as far as I know." She squirmed and bucked, he had to lock his arms just to keep her in place. She finally stopped pushing, when she lost most of her ability to speak. Luther took this as a sign to hurry up and fuck her. He pulled himself back up wiping his mouth quickly and kissed her as he thrusted in, filling her in a single stroke. A gasp and groan mixed in with the kiss. Now however, he couldn't stop talking. "He didn't die when we fled, so Dad made sure he did when he came looking for us." He growled nipping her jaw and tasting her neck, her moaning and gasping, getting him to go faster and harder. "He thought we were just going out for a walk, him and I; no. I was keeping him away from the house while they finally got rid of him." He stopped then, the haze becoming thick enough to silence him. He growled and bit down on her shoulder again when he came, the wet heat throwing her clear off the edge, tightening around him, shaking and crying out.

Their chests bounced off each other, Rowan pulling his head up for another kiss, uncaring that her shoulder was now numb and bleeding slightly. After they had flipped around again and pulling something over them, it turning out to be his turtleneck, she asked, "How old were you when you left him?" So she was listening through all that. "Hm? Not that old… I believe I had recently started walking when it happened…" He nuzzled the side of her head, it was a terrible time to remember, but it couldn't put him down at all. He'd gotten over it a very long time ago, and he'd just had sex, that euphoria is wonderfully strong. "He knows that you're his half-brother… hasn't Ed ever asked? Before and after?"

"Thankfully not since we came back together, but he has asked me before. I would always tell him that he died from a sickness just after I was born, letting him think that Mom and Dad had married at least a year after I was born." As their breathing settled, he sighed, thanking God that he looked so much like his mother and not that man.

The turtleneck had to be overly warm considering but she didn't seem to mind. His tentacles stretched out underneath her, most sticking together and flowing to the other end of the couch, one curled over the back of the couch, and one hung off the side, two gently brushed her legs all the way down to her toes, and one rested at the end of her back, having been uncurled from her waist. She was the only one he knew of that actually like these things, and didn't mind having them touch her; with the exception of Doc, a doctor. The very people he could never bring himself to trust ever again. A man who at any given opportunity would study his form intently, and take as many notes as possible to add to the file of him that he'd copied from the facility. The same one he'd been held in since he was thirteen. "You're too perfect for me…" She gave a satisfied crooning sigh and rested her head on his chest, her face like that of a blissful cat having found someplace warm to rest. But he was the one that was purring. Then a thought flashed in his head that she might try to think about what he wants more and not go to where she wants to go. Namely, France. "It doesn't matter anymore. I know he's dead. I don't care about him in any way and he doesn't affect my thoughts on travel. All I want is to go where you go." He whispered, pulling her up for another kiss. She grinned, possibly only half listening now and easily fell asleep again.

A week past and now they were just waiting for his half-brother to arrive with Lyth since she can't be left alone for more than an hour if that without supervision by either him or Rowan. Luther decided that it would be good if he just left Jellal there, as he doubted that he'd need him. There was a knock at the door and it looked like those two had been caught up in a whirlwind. "Lyth… behave." Rowan said; in an instant they were in Paris, and standing in front of their hotel. It appeared that they had arrived from the airport just before sunset. "_Oh, Mademoiselle, on time as usual!_" A man in a uniform presumably the manager said walking outside to greet them. "_Bonjour Mr. Jandelle, it is wonderful to be here at this time with friends, Oui?"_

"_Oui, si vous plait come in._" Rowan followed the manager in with everyone else tailing behind her, Lyth being dragged along in concealed handcuffs. This was a very nice hotel, and they were given a very nice room with two bedrooms with their own bathrooms. Then there was a common room with seating, entertainment and a small bar, and the balcony had a magnificent view as did the bedrooms. Both rooms had king size beds; and the only one that disliked the set up was Ed. That meant he had to sleep in the same bed as the psycho that he has to watch over and over kills him at _every_ given chance. "Really; with all the magic you can do you can't simply turn one into two?" Luther snickered at his half-brother's paranoia. "Oh I know I can, but I don't like sleeping in the same room with her let alone the same building. I don't mind the sleeping part, she's actually normal then. It's in the morning, when she's up and moving. Then she's insane again and I really don't like waking up after dying at least once and the bed turned red with my blood." He growled. "And you would know this how?"

"You look at Xavier. Not me." Luther broke out laughing and easily dodged the various weapons that were then thrown at him and disappeared behind him. "Hey at least it isn't me after drinking three bottle of moonshine." Rowan said motioning to the bar and Luther suddenly found himself as a meat shield for both of them; what surprised him more was that Lyth actually hid behind him of her own accord, about as scared as Ed. "D-don't joke about that! You're scarier than she could ever be!"

"Are you really that scary?"

"Oh no…" She paused glancing at them as she took out a bottle of champagne, and grinned so evilly. "I'm so much worse." The look in her eyes and the sharpness of the grin, it made her look so dark and evil, and oddly… he really wanted to try that. Maybe not right now though… with these two acting like little kids that just saw a bully. "Ok. That's nice… could… could you two get off me?" Luther grumbled looking back at his brother and 'his' girl. When Ed realized he looked like a big idiot he laughed it off awkwardly and hurried Lyth into the bedroom. "So what could I do to see that side of you?"

"Why would you want to?" She got her answer when he pressed her back into his chest, pushing his nose into her neck and very quietly growling. "I'd have to be really careful then… because I apparently go through four stages of drunkenness and no one wants me to even trying to go higher than two cans…"

"Indulge me, if you would. Tell me the stages."

"Well… first stage I'm not so much drunken as I am more open. Second I'm horny and would happily do any guy that didn't stay the day after and didn't have aids…" She started pouring the champagne into glasses, mostly ignoring his slow quiet advances. "After that I've only been told what happens because I can't remember at all… apparently third stage I become irritable and kind of an ass like Xavier… but more so. Fourth stage… Violent… very… very violent; as well as seriously uncaring of other's lives or well being and would happily unleash hell upon the earth if given the chance. Never do I want to wake up and see what I've reaped after being that drunk…" She held up that glass for him and he let her go to take it. He scowled only for a moment because he hadn't really wanted to pull away from her. He however wasn't about to turn down Champagne so he dealt with it.

They walked out onto the balcony together, and they could see all of Paris, it was cold yes, and it gave him a very good chance to get a little closer to her. He knew that Ed would somehow and for no reason at all be watching, waiting for that lovey-dovey moment that was mushy and corny and almost iconic to Paris. "How is it that you can come here in like nineteen-seventy-three, and come back today and it haven't changed all that much…" She said fondly looking out onto the city. He was smelling his champagne when he smelled ginger ale. It was coming from her glass; Luther quickly snatched it and took another sniff. He glanced back into the common room to see Ed and Lyth's bedroom's door closing again. He silently growled and handed it back. "It's ginger ale."

"I know. I noticed when it became even more carbonated but said nothing." She said taking a sip and gazing back out into the winter wonderland. "He's trying something I know it, and I don't know if I should worry or not." Luther muttered taking a sip of his champagne. Rowan snorted, "No more annoying than usual. If he is trying something stupid, I can 'remind' him that Lyth 'didn't' bring her medicine."

"Don't do that to him." Luther laughed. It was then that a cold wind made them both jump and hurry back into the warm common room. "So, you want to hurry finish these and go to bed?" Luther laughed. "_Goodnight, Edward._" She said finishing her drink and leaving the glass on the bar before striding into their bedroom. He looked back at the other bedroom and saw the door trembling. He snickered and finished his leaving the glass beside hers and stalking into the bedroom locking the door behind him.

The next day Luther woke very groggy and with someone standing over him while Rowan was still asleep. Her back pressed into his chest and she was only wearing his shirt as she loves to do. He looked over his shoulder at the intruder and found it to be Ed, or rather Xavier, the dark half of his poor half-brother's soul. "Get out." He growled turning back and leaving his eyes half open. "Aw, you look cute together." Bastard. Luther raised a hand and flipped Xavier off and then let it lazily fall back onto her, keeping her close to him. His hair was then being pulled on and he turned his head and growled in warning, "Hey, that's no way to treat your brother who was nice enough to order breakfast for everyone." Dammit. Luther groaned turning onto his back and letting Rowan go to sit up. He wasn't overly happy with being woken up, but hey, food. "I won't say sorry for flipping you off, but thanks for the food at least…" Luther yawned, swinging his legs off the bed, and stretching to work out the muscles in his neck shoulders and back. "Get out and I'll be out in a minute." he sighed going over to his suitcase to retrieve a shirt. "You know I have never really seen her asleep, let alone be asleep past seven. What the hell did you two do last night?" _I knew it,_ Luther thought, _my brother's a freaking perv._ "None of your business; hurry up and leave will you?" He growled pushing his half-brother out the door and closing it behind him.

A moan came from the bed as Rowan sat up. His shirt only had a couple buttons buttoned on her, leaving the rest undone. It would just take a simple brush of the wind for it to slip off. Had they not been sharing a suite with two other people, one being an incredible ass and pervert when he wants to be, Luther might not have minded this. "Go take a shower and get properly dressed…" He said doing up his fresh shirt most of the way and walking out the door, leaving her on the bed giving a disgruntled groan. To his surprise there was a decent French meal waiting, croissants, jam, fruit, espresso, then there were more American breakfast foods mixed in, eggs, bacon, muffins, milk… there was orange juice as well. "Whoo hoo! You wouldn't believe what room service is willing to do for ya here in France!" it was Ed this time and he was merrily eating away at one end of the table that had been set up for them. Luther wasn't so sure that it was room service that did this. He took a single shot of espresso and sat opposite of Ed, taking his time and eating little. "What's wrong with you? Sick?"

"Here in France meals are much different than they are in America, here you have a small breakfast, a very big lunch, then a decent sized dinner. I honestly prefer this method for it helps keep me fit. If you stopped stuffing your gullet every chance you get, you might shed a few pounds." Luther snorted looking up from his muffin. "You calling me fat?!"

"Oh no, anything but that mon frère; somehow you always manage to work off everything you devour. Your metabolism is frighteningly high, I was merely joking." Ed glared at him and kept eating. Then Luther realized that this place was starting to revert his speech patterns back to French already. He really didn't want to get back the attitude either.

Rowan walked out, her hair was up, wearing jeans, his shirt still but now it had only two unbuttoned, and he was sure she was wearing a bra now. It was as if she hadn't realized she was still wearing his shirt or maybe she just didn't care about appearances yet. She ate little and was dead silent, possibly just listening to the two brothers argue. Then she had a double shot of espresso with some cream and sugar and went back into the bedroom, possibly more awake now and realized her wardrobe issue. Lyth was dead silent as well. She ate very quietly and kept her manners, which Luther was stunned that she even had manners at the table to begin with. As everyone dispersed and the room service cleaned up everything for them, one of them slipped Luther a letter, whispering as he passed, "Dropped by to say hi, son." Dad never called him son unless it was to address custody or to call him over when they had company. It was him, that bastard of a father. That man in particular was the last one out; and had Luther not chocked on his last cup of coffee from the shock, he would've killed him right there. He didn't even give Ed a chance to ask him if he was ok, Luther ran out of the room into the hall and saw the man break away from the rest and walk into the laundry room. Luther ran in; but he already was gone. The uniform had been ripped off and he'd gone down the chute. Luther growled in anger and turned around gripping the note still, and he came face to face with Xavier. Perfect. "Now what's got you all hot n' bothered?"

"Nothing that concerns you." He growled pushing his way past. Xavier bothered him all the way back to the suite. When Luther got to the door of the bedroom he finally turned to him and said, "Xavier it is none of your business, I want you to stay away from this." Then he closed the door on him and locked it. He didn't even care if Rowan was out there or not.

Luther sat down on the bed and looked down at the now crumbled note. He was half tempted to read it. No, he never wanted to see that man again. It had to be more than just coincidence that he was alive and had found him again; but he didn't care. He won't let this man ruin his first Christmas in fifteen years, and even more so his first Christmas with Ed, and Rowan. He took out a lighter that he always had on him, and burned the note. Then he washed his hands and dumped the ashes. He went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him and then started the shower. Water calmed Luther, and maybe a hug and reassuring kiss from Rowan later would make him feel better. There came a knock on the bathroom door, he didn't answer. A slender form walked in and sat down on the toilet, and he was wary enough to pull the curtain back a little to take a good look at the now fully awake red-head looking up at him. "I saw you burn that paper. Did you even read it?" She asked when he returned to washing up. "No. I don't care." He said shaking his hair out. "You should, it was a threat." He froze, "Against what?"

"Ed." He snorted. "He should be fine, he can't die, and his regeneration is just stupid."

"He's been watching since you were free, he knows about it. He does not want to kill him, Luther. He wants to torture him." The soap was crushed in his grip as he growled in anger. "That bloody bastard, he's been killed at least three times and he still won't get the hell out of our lives." Luther rarely became mad enough to lose his gentlemanly attitude and revert to his English tongue and curse freely and often as he was now. "Kinda sounds like Ed." Luther hissed at her glaring at her through the curtain. "Don't compare him to that damned bloke!" He's had too much pain put into him, too much hatred; he didn't want to burden anyone with it. And he certainly didn't want Rowan to see him mad. "I'm sorry…" He leaned against the wall of the shower, "It's not me that you're angry at."

"No, it's not, but I shouldn't blow off steam by yelling at you. I don't want to do that…" He sighed… some Christmas this'll be. He turned off the shower and dried, uncaring that Rowan was watching him amused by the show.

It was quiet in the common room, at least between Luther and Ed. "I'm goin' out." Ed finally said. "I'll go with you." Luther said getting up as well. Ed gave him a look and shrugged. Rowan and Lyth stayed in the hotel, probably to give him a chance alone with his brother. That is if they could manage to talk to each other. He followed Ed out and down many streets before he found the will to say anything at all. "Ed…"

"_What?_" He was getting Xavier, and because of the way Luther had acted he was now snappy. They had reached a bridge and he was about to say sorry when he heard the sound of cars screeching up. "Xavier, get back to the hotel." Luther said, looking around pulling his nonexistent gun and cursing. He always had his weapons on him, at any given time, except now. He'd left Jellal at home. "What?"

"Get back to the hotel now!" He cried two black cars tearing up the lanes in front and behind them, trapping them. Men in black clothes and masks burst out of the vehicles with assault rifles. Xavier turned around and blew up five guns in their faces. "Run! Go back to them! Ask Rowan what's happen- Ahh!" Xavier heard his scream as he fell from the bridge dragging two men with him into the partially frozen water far below. "Luther!" He ran to the edge and looked down, they were gone; he could sense him, he could teleport- A guy came up behind him and grabbed him by the collar. There was an attempt to jerk him back but it failed and he ripped the hand off and turned around. They had their guns raised and started shooting again, but he now had a force field up. "Don't you dare touch me, you fucking bastard; my brother just fell into the river and it was because of you; I don't have mercy and I'm very much being held back, you run right now or all of you are going to _BURN_!" He roared slamming the guy back as one car went ablaze suddenly. They persisted and the fire spread to them like a hungry beast as he walked away. "I warned them. Don't patronize me right now Ed."

He went down stream following the river until he saw a couple kids poking something at the water's edge. He rushed them away and picked off some muck to find his half-brother there, his claws dug into the stone, and blood coming out of his head. Being drenched he knew that he was stuck in that disgusting form. Xavier growled and looked around. He would not touch those things, but he wasn't going to leave him here and let him fall prey to those kids, French police, and hypothermia. After a moment of thought he pulled Luther out of the water, refusing to leave him now. Then he teleported back to the hotel, straight into the suite and into Luther's room. Xavier just threw him on the bed and began to pace, he didn't know what to do; he didn't understand what was going on. Rowan walked in with a wet towel and flicked her wrist and Luther was suddenly bare from the waist up and his tentacles were legs again.

This was the first time he'd seen his brother his open to the air, or rather really took notice when it happened. The scarring was extensive below his neck and above his waist, even on his back, and it was especially so on his lower arms and hands. It would be striking the moment the shirt would be removed. There were four large scars cutting diagonally across his chest from right to left like the one scar on his face. That went from his right eyebrow, over his eye and nose, and down to the bottom of his left cheek. That he had given to him as a child. He had bullet scars on his left shoulder and hip, and another on his lower spine. There were burns on his right hip and shoulder and another on the back of his neck and upper back. Also he had many, many small cuts from debris falling on him. And almost all of this was all from that day, fifteen years ago.

"You knew this would happen!" Xavier growled focusing on her so he wasn't enthralled with the very sight of Luther. "Yes, I did; and I know what's going on too." She said resting her hand on the open wound on Luther's head healing it up and using the towel to wipe away the blood. "What is going on?! Nothing makes sense; tell me what made those people do this! Did we come here on a case? What?!"

"No. You calm down, or you won't get anything." She looked up at him, that serious stubborn look that told him she won't budge. Xavier spat and scowled, and then gave up; it won't help the situation if he goes on a rampage in the middle of Paris. "What the hell is going on?" He asked pulling up a seat. "It's about his father."

"Dad? But he's dead! I went back and made sure that he was-"

"Not your father you idiot, his biological father; the one that he was sure was dead."

"But he always said he'd died of sickness when he was just a baby."

"He's been protecting you before you were even born Xavier. There is so much he hasn't told you of your own family. Why did your mother go to England to marry a man that she'd never met before? Why was there always a man at the door every time Luther dragged you away for a walk in the forest? Who was the person that gave him this note, and that he chased down into the laundry room?" She handed him the regenerated note that Luther had previously burned and Xavier was shocked by all this sudden information. "Here. Here's what I know, at least from what he's willingly told me." She tapped his forehead once and then went back to tending to Luther.

Like a head rush from being knocked off your feet by a hay-maker, the feeling of the information flowed into his head and gave him a headache. "Why didn't he ever tell me? I could have done something!"

"You were a child and where his childhood was already ruined the moment he started having memories, he didn't want yours to be ruined by this man either. He honestly thought he was dead until just now."

"He's been catching crap all his life! And he didn't tell anyone! How stupid can you get?!"

"How many people did you tell when you tried to kill yourself four years ago?" Xavier quieted. She knew very well about what he did then, and it being the reason he's like this now; and what his real intent of doing it was. "So what now; he knew this guy was going to come after me to get to him, and by the sounds of things he doesn't want to be the great dad that he 'ever' had. I'm sure as hell not going to let him screw things up any more than they already are."

"Well, I just had to erase like five or ten recordings of what you did on that bridge, and then at least two city blocks of memories… Where's Lyth?" The realization struck the two when they both sensed her walking away from the hotel.

Xavier teleported into the alley she was passing and ran to catch up with her. "Lyth! You aren't allowed to be by yourself regardless of this being another country!" He pushed Ed forward because it wasn't _his_ job technically since it wasn't _his_ name that was signed on the agreement. "The man that Luther was upset with walked in and was listening through the door. He didn't notice me. I've been following him since he walked back out. He's over there talking to that woman in the purple coat." She made a subtle gesture and he immediately picked him out. He was wearing a hoodie and the only thing he saw was his nose and it was pale, very pale, almost to the point of being grey. Ed tried to pick out his signal, one that all life forms give off, but… he wasn't giving off a life signature. Ed was freaking out on the inside, and Xavier had to yell at him to shut up. "Leave him; we're going back to the hotel room! Now!" He looked back one last time at the man and saw yellow eyes, with very small pupils. Ed teleported and told her to stay there, right there in the bedroom. A zombie, why a zombie? Of all things that Ed could have found that man to be it had to be a zombie!

Unlike Xavier who had the extreme fear of what Luther is, called affectionately, Tentas; Ed had a debilitating fear of zombies. He just freaks out in their head, dropping the weight of their body on Xavier to run to the back of their mind. The fear actually manifested recently, after they had fought off a horde of zombies. It was during that time Xavier had died, and he was left to watch his body be torn apart over and over again. Lyth had found him at some point and pulled him out, but the damage was done. Neither of them tries to let their fears show, but when it happens it happens.

Ed was pacing in the common room, trying to convince Xavier to take over for him, because he really didn't want to be in control right then. "If you don't then I'll take a freaking butter knife and off myself!"

"Holy damn! Fine! Just don't do that!" They've broken their record amazingly for living for more than two weeks and Xavier really didn't want to spoil that miracle just yet. After pacing a bit more, he noticed another note taped to Rowan and Luther's door. He took it off after some hesitation… for the first thing he saw was the Calligraphized D on the face of the neatly folded note. _D… for Danton, no… it couldn't be possible. It had to be a trick. _He slowly unfolded it. _D-dad's handwriting. It can't…_ "Luther and Edward, Run. I don't care what has changed in the years that have past. He is still toying with everyone connected with her, he won't die. So run home. Now. –G D." he fell to his knees from the shock. He can't be alive. Their parents _can't_ be alive. He had just recovered and was about to hide this in his pocket when the door opened and someone bent down to snap a couple fingers in his face. "Ack! Stop that!" He growled standing and backing up. "What's with the paper?" Crap it was Luther. "I-It's nothing." He wasn't really sure why he was trying to hide it. "Yeah I doubt that, is it another threat?"

"No…" Xavier didn't really think it would be this awkward to hide something from his brother; then again, he never succeeded anyway even when they were kids. "Let me see." Luther had walked up to him and it was just like back then. He held his hand out with a look that said if he didn't let him see he would probably tell on him or do something to embarrass him. It was only because of that memory that he gave him the note.

They had seated themselves beside each other on the couch when he was done reading and had given it back. He was much calmer than Xavier was on the outside. But he had to be freaking out on the inside. Their parents who raised them, who died in that house fire which changed their lives… had survived. Xavier then remembered the reason why Ed had wanted so badly to hide in the back of their mind again and frowned… maybe they hadn't survived. "So what was Lyth doing?" He was trying not to think about it apparently. "She was following some guy… he'd walked in and hadn't noticed her. He was the one that left the note…"

"Couldn't that have been dad then?"

"Then dad's been turned into a zombie." Luther looked at him trying to hide the shock and fear in his eyes. "The guy had his hoodie up, but he turned his head once… no hair from what Ed saw, almost ash grey skin, a little wrinkly, and yellow eyes with small pupils... all telltale signs of a type of necromancy."

"Why isn't he in control?"

"Cause I saw that note." He lied, no one needed to know about that poor sap's fears. "Well, what are we going to do? Listen to our _dead_ parents and scurry home, or are we going to deal with this ourselves as we've been doing?" That made them both grin. "This'll be a really good Christmas when we kill the bastard." Xavier laughed summoning a couple beers. "And make sure he can never continue again." They gave cheers and drank. Nothing could really ruin their lives more than they already were they believed, so all the brothers could do was deal with it and have a laugh.

Rowan was leaning against the other side of the door, listening to the two brothers; she was happy that they have regained at least this much… but she feared what will happen if they ever find their parents… She prayed to anyone that might be listening, to cut them some slack, at least for a couple days.

The next day rolled around and Rowan dragged Lyth out for some last minute shopping since tomorrow was Christmas. Luther gazed out down from the balcony watching them as Rowan almost literally dragged Lyth down the street. "They're going to do more than just shopping…" He sighed; it was unlikely at the very best for Rowan to want to take Lyth of all people Christmas shopping. She'd more likely take her as backup or use her as a weapon. "That's pretty obvious, most likely she'll be tracking down your father to kill him so he leaves us alone." Xavier shrugged, Ed had still refused to take control of their body so he was kinda stuck for a while. "Should we go after them?"

"Nah, if they can't handle it, or if their stuck which is really unlikely, she can just teleport them back. Rowan'll send some kind of signal to get my attention too." They leaned over the boundary and watched the two round the corner, and then Luther went back inside. Xavier stayed a bit longer then turned to go back inside when he saw the doors of the suite burst inward. He saw them grab Luther and him fighting them off, but before he could move he was knocked off his feet and killed. Someone had sniped a sniper. He almost screamed for Ed to do something before he lost consciousness.

Xavier woke with a jolt some fifteen minutes later; someone had obviously hurried the healing process. Rowan was standing over him tapping her foot in annoyance and sheer rage was starting to build up in her eyes. He flipped over and got on his knees; did Ed even do anything or did he get shot as well? Well, the feeling of two bullets mashed together in his nose ought to be verification of that. He looked around, the place had been torn to bits and spattered blood covered the torn walls, furniture, and floor. Somebody put up hell of a fight. Luther was gone. "How… how…" Xavier couldn't figure out how this happened. No alarms went off, that sniper knew he would get up again. He didn't understand how they pulled it off. Rowan was silent and it was clear that if she tried to say something it wouldn't be anything good. "W-where's Lyth?" He almost groaned trying to stand before he really let the feeling settle into his body again. It took a good three seconds to work up the ability to answer without yelling. It didn't really matter if he was older than her. It was made quite clear in the beginning that she was better one and is technically the glue holding this group of "Friends" together. To work as a team they follow her orders. The only one that might be more respected and acknowledged more would be Doc. Even then _that_ is due to age and ability. "She's tracking the van that has Luther in it."

"And you couldn't just say stop them?"

"Do you want to find the bastards that are causing us trouble or not?" She was seriously trying not to blow up. It is impossibly hard to actually make her mad; the most she would usually get is annoyed or irritated. Rowan right here, right now, was holding back her anger, and was legitly pissed off. "Of course I do, but I don't think we need France to have a crater in its capital too." She took the hint walked past him out onto the balcony to cool off. If she can't be the calm one of a situation then you know it's getting pretty serious, and very much worse than it already was.

Xavier was too mad as well right now to let anyone try to kill him again. Standing next to Rowan, waiting for Lyth to call; he caught an arrow mid-flight and raised his hand to murder the sender. Grey skin and yellow eyes. Calmed enough by the sight of that man he looked down at the arrow to see another note strapped to it. It gave a place and a code to a keypad. He looked up and the guy was gone again. "Why didn't you kill him?"

"Cause he isn't the one that I want dead now." Xavier said handing her the note. Rowan made a call and then grabbed him by the arm and teleported. It was a castle. And a black van was driving into a garage with a reinforced door. Lyth landed next to Xavier after having jumped from the gate some feet away. "This place…" Both of their shoulder's dropped when they realized that this place had been made with the one type of freaking metal that nullifies their magic.

Luther woke twice after being hit hard enough to knock him out. The first time he found himself in a van with a bag over his head, and they were driving somewhere. The second time was after they'd arrived and he was being carried down some halls like a prisoner that had just escaped and was heavily sedated. Now he was really awake and he found himself chained in the middle of a room. The chains were reinforced so not even he could break out of without some serious strength… and stress overtime. His tentacles were splayed out in front of him. And they too were chained. His shirt had been ripped open and his sleeves torn off. His ribbon that he used to hold his hair up had been torn off and ripped apart apparently, since he saw the remnants of it lying in front of him. He was in an old dungeon, a really old one; possibly part of one of the castles that littered French countryside's. Well, at least he'd finally see the bastard that was doing this to him. His chains were ones that could be pulled and raised, giving whoever the ability to put him in just about any position. He was going to be tortured no doubt…well, unless it was Rowan, they'd have hell trying to break him. "_Hello son, it's truly been too long._" Luther looked up and growled; it was him, that bastard that he was related to. The man he saw in the mirror every day. His father and he was very much alive. "_Now why the such harsh reaction? Aren't you happy to see your father? I guess your mother decided to tell you I was a bad person eh?_" This man stood at six feet even, mildly short chestnut hair, he now had a thin mustache, and you could see where his head had been lopped off before. Luther remained silent becoming pleased with all the ideas of how to murder him again in the most brutal way. And then butcher him into tiny little pieces and spread him out across the globe to make sure he really was dead. "_Can you even understand your own language? I would hate to think all that time spent in England and America made you lose your native tongue._" Luther growled again, testing the strength of the bindings and then saying, "_You better hope these will hold me, you sadistic bastard; for if I get free even once, I will not even hesitate in slaughtering you._" He chuckled and took a step closer and leaned down, just out of reach. Regardless Luther snapped at him, growling at him, his slitted eyes burning with hatred and passion with the desire to kill him. "You know, I zink you will be much more fun zan your whore of a mozzer." That made Luther strain against the chains, _call his mother a whore will he?! He'll kill him! He will rip the very flesh from his bones and smear the wall with his blood!_ He snarled tugging hard at his restraints causing his wrists to bleed slightly. "_Now, now, that is no way to treat your father; maybe you need a bit of __**discipline**__._" Luther's eyes widened as the chains pulled him up and his arms stretched out and had his legs been out instead of his tentacles he'd be on his knees. His father went to a table in one corner, purposely set there so he could see what he would be using on him. It was a metallic looking whip. He walked behind him, and said with a disgusting grin as Luther glared over his shoulder at him, "_So many scars, tsk, tsk, such a waste of skin, I could've made a pretty penny with your body, I guess a few more won't do anything!_" Luther screamed and arched his back at the first contact of leather streaking across his back, cutting through his shirt and tearing into his skin.

Rowan didn't even have to hear the scream to know what was going on; that morning she had given Luther something that was very important. A leather strap bracelet, onto which were welded five brass shields, on four of them there were protection wards, and on the center fifth one, on one side was her symbol, granting the wearer healing and protection from many things. And it also had a direct connection with her; she would know what was happening regardless of the wearer being in a place where magic was useless. That was on the side which was hidden by the leather, on the side facing out, there was a rose, a rose and thorns. That symbolized a promise.

They'd just found their way in when she felt it, her back oh god her back, it burns. She wouldn't have let that stop her. There would've been slight a warmth on where he was being hit to signal to her. However that scar on her back made it debilitating painful and she fell to her knees. Her head hung low and gripping her arms shaking. She bit her lip to stop from crying out. If she were alone she could easily just hide and wait, but Lyth and Xavier were with her, and of the two she had to push Xavier away. "Dammit don't touch me!" She growled forcing herself up to continue on. They lost themselves in several halls since they could not simply just sense their way through, cutting down anyone that got in their way. Then they caught a servant girl… she was forced to wear old medieval type slave wear, it was disgusting! And what was worse was that she was an elf! Elven! The pointed ears and face gave her away easily. "Why are you here?" Xavier asked knowing Rowan could barely speak from the pain she was experiencing. "_I am a servant to the lord; he will punish you for having weapons within the grounds._" She spoke French. Xavier didn't know freaking French! "_He took someone very dear to us. Pardon us for intruding but we will not leave until we have gotten him back._" Rowan said, biting back the pain since the whipping had apparently stopped for the moment. "_The Lord is with his son in the dungeon punishing him for leaving him years ago. I am bringing medical aid there to patch up the son so the Lord may continue._" She held up a bowl with wrappings in it, as well as rubbing alcohol and a needle and string. "_Take us there._"

"_Why?_"

"_Please, he doesn't deserve the punishment; he was a baby and is being punished for what his mother did. He needs us right now._" Rowan didn't want to show too much emotion even though she was basically begging. Thankfully it worked, the slave motioned for them to follow.

Luther's back stung. He hadn't realized that he fell unconscious. It was made clear however by freezing water with salt being dumped onto his open wounds making him thrash and scream. His father had also cut out a bit of his tongue needed for human speech, but animal noises such as growling, hissing, whining, roaring, and screaming were still doable. "_You are not going to fall asleep on me yet, boy. I still have a long list of things I want to do to you._" his father came round with a knife and gripped his hair. "_Your hair is too long, boy; you are not a little girl! You must look like a man to be one!_" Luther jerked again; he didn't want him touching his hair! One of his tentacles had come loose from the excessive jerking and he used it to grab the hand with the knife and twist it, then he pulled it up and bit down, piercing the flesh easily with his fangs. His father cried out and the knife was tossed away. He let go of his hair and used his nails when slapping Luther, making him cry out again and let go. The tentacle was immediately restrained again, and the others were checked as well. "_Fine! Keep the ugly girly hair!_" His father gripped the whip in his other hand this time and went around to his back again. His back was already numb and slightly scabbing, and with the fresh strokes he couldn't keep down the tears while screaming. The bindings were starting to bend from the pressure he was putting on them, if he could just put himself into an adrenaline rage like when he found himself bound in Doc's medical room that one time… "_I can keep doing this for days, boy. But I want to try breaking you in one… maybe I should tell you how your mother really became pregnant with you._" his father hissed when he stopped again, walking up to Luther and leaning down to look at him over his shoulder. He paused a moment to look down at Luther who was panting hard, blood already starting to cake around his mouth and nose. "_I raped her._" That disgusting voice in Luther's ear bothered him more than what he said as he already figured Mom wouldn't have consented with this guy. His father went around and picked up some dental tool and wrenched his jaw open. He used the pliers to grab hold of one of his fangs and started pulling, making Luther cry out and try to close his jaws. His father wouldn't have it though. He held his jaw open and pulled mercilessly, until finally he had to lean in a bit to see how he was doing and Luther took the opportunity to head-butt him. His father fell back and Luther bit down on the weak pliers breaking them and then spat them out. He got up and spat at him then took up the whip again. He whipped him from the front after readjusting his position. "_You're not just a brat without his father, you are a rape child that is good for nothing and deserves no life in this world!_"

Luther felt the strokes slow after a time, his father's anger finally settling again. Then he stopped again and pulled up his head with the blunt end of the whip and continued. His eyes were with a fresh glow of evil. He was going to say something that would hurt him, maybe even break him. Depending on what it was. "_You know that girl you like; she's not all that bad looking. It would be an easy job with her. You would still see her, but she would be my bitch. I'll make sure she won't even remember you when I'm done with her. She'd be bound to my bed for days, unable to move… maybe I'll make that scar worse for her. Make her beg for my mercy… I'm sure you've thought about making her beg~"_ That sick good for nothing bastard! He dared to threaten Rowan in front of him and call her a bitch! And then try to make him look just as bad! He'd kill him! The bindings groaned and his father backed up in amusement which quickly turned to shock. Luther roared in animalistic rage and finally jerked free of the restraints. His father ran in horror out of the dungeon, leaving him to rip off the ones on his extra limbs before pursuing.

It was too cold to be raining Rowan thought when they past the courtyard where it was pouring and proceed down several more. It had been some hours since they lost themselves in this place, and with each passing one, she felt more and more like they wouldn't find him alive. Then they heard a man scream as he was tossed down a hall, flying past them, and a dark shadow zooming after him. "_That was the Lord!_" The Elven girl cried moving to run after them. Xavier held her back and told her to leave it to them before they ran after those two. It circled back around to the courtyard where they saw the man being held in the air by his neck, chocking and gasping for air as he was clawing at the hand of a tenta. It was Luther, and never had he looked so enraged even the time in Doc's lab paled in comparison. "Luther!" He couldn't hear them. They were on the far end from them. The thunder and lightning were clashing loud and fast directly overhead. All of them knew regardless of their exceptional speeds without magic, none of them could reach them in time to stop it. And then Lyth noticed the other onlooker.

_I'll kill you_, Luther thought once he finally had hold of the bastard's neck, his grip slowly increasing in pressure. He wouldn't dare let him try to beg for mercy, he didn't deserve it at all. If Luther could speak, he would yell at him, and tell him just how bad of a man he truly is. His father coughed and made a sound kind of like a "gak!" Luther was getting ready to just rip his head off when he felt someone rather small give a tug on the remains of his shirt. He looked down and only managed half a hiss when he saw a reflection of himself in the little girl who couldn't possibly be older than nine or ten years old. "T-the wonders of cryogenics…" his father gasped when his grip loosened slightly. She didn't show signs of fear at all; she was the spitting image of their mother, with wonderfully blonde hair and big rounded green eyes. The pouring rain was lessening now, to where it was a light sprinkle and then it turned into snow again. All the rage and anger he felt was suddenly gone. The want and desire to murder this man was just…gone. "Are you my brother?" She asked, cocking her head slightly at him. He couldn't make a sound he was so stunned by this little girl. He was standing there looking between her and the man who was still struggling and flailing in his grasp. Then he saw the bracelet was still on. Rowan had to be here somewhere, she had to have come looking for him and sensed this. He could even feel its powers on him now that he focused on it. Slowly, but surely everything was healing, even the part of his tongue that had been cut off was growing back. He swished his tongue in his mouth for a moment to feel the now somewhat pointed tip of his tongue brushing his sharpened teeth. Luther glared up at his father and dropped him. He looked around and saw Rowan, Xavier, and Lyth standing at one end of the courtyard and smiled.

He was about to wave to them when he saw their looks change from relief to fear and he knew that bastard was going to back stab him. Luther spun around and using the force of the turnabout, his claws connected with his father's neck, tearing it off. He stained the fresh snow with his blood and flung him backwards. The knife his father had was lost in the uncovered grass. The snow drifted down lightly now, and beams of sunlight cracked through the clouds of grey. The burn was washed away from his muscles, replacing it with the shivering cold as it still being winter. Luther trembled for a moment and then fell backwards. Somehow he landed on his side, and as he lost consciousness he felt a small mass curl up beside him and just watched him. He said a few words to her as he slipped away from the conscious world.

Rowan and Xavier ran to him when Luther collapsed; Lyth followed, but only with the intention of looking at the body of the man he killed. Rowan realized that this courtyard was the one place that didn't have that damned metal in it. She could use her magic here, so she began to heal Luther, while Xavier focused on the girl. She looked a lot like Luther, and himself. She had their mother's face and hair and his dad's eyes, when he was alive of course. Xavier remembered something about their parents breaking the news that mom was pregnant with another kid, but that was almost fifteen years ago, less than a month before what happened… "Hey, who are you?"

"Primrose. Mother used to tell me that those were her favorite flowers before she died." She died before they could see her again, huh… "Who is your mother?"

"She said her name was Elizabeth Dantun, but he told me that her name was Lisa Vil'leone." One of those names fit. "Kid, its Danton. Dan-t-on."

"I was just checking to see if you knew." She's smarter than she's letting on. "Mom said I had two older brothers, and that the reason that I wasn't born earlier was that she was being kept in a cryogenics laboratory until I was born ten years ago." Xavier's shoulders fell again. That must've been horrible. Their mother didn't deserve that. "Who's your father?" He thought she would point at the man lying dead some feet away that was now being dismembered by Lyth, but she actually answered, "She said my dad's name was Gorge Danton, and that this man wasn't him." _Oh good, wait… there is a high possibility then that she is the reason for the anti-magic metal in this place then. Also, this is France, how can she speak English so well? Maybe Mom made it a point to teach her…_ Xavier thought. "Do you know who we are?"

"Well, I asked him if he was my older brother and he said yes, are you my big brother too?" Now this was starting to get awkward. He was her older brother yeah… but Xavier wouldn't be a very good one considering… He was actually often embarrassed to admit he was Luther's younger brother at times… "Hey, Xavier… if he keeps getting up after dying it would be best to scatter the remains." Rowan said closing the scratches on Luther's left cheek. "Right."

"Xavier?"

"Rowan you… you answer her." He didn't really want to try to explain that whole mess to a child. This really wasn't the time for him to be going all soft because there was a kid around.

Luther was unconscious for the rest of the day. He'd only woken once, and Rowan had been sitting there on the bed waiting for him to wake up. The first thing he did was cry. Not from being hurt, not from being attempted to be broken down… but being told he was a rape child. She held him close until he fell asleep again; wishing that she could change it all for him. That however would harm the balance of things… She could make him forget, but what good would that do him? He had to deal with it… and sadly he has to deal with a lot more than he should… kind of like her. "It'll be ok…" She whispered petting his head when he started to whimper in his sleep. "Shh… It'll be alright…" he quieted again and she rested her cheek against his head and drifted.

Luther woke early morning curled up to Rowan. He needed not only a shower, but also a very strong… and possibly very big alcoholic beverage to wash away the fresh pain he felt. He wanted the drink first. Luther managed to untangle himself from her, but it was very hard just to stand. He wobbled for a moment, being very unsteady on his feet. Walking out he completely ignored the guy in the hoodie kneeling next to the couch and went to the bar to open a beer. Worst thing that could happen right now was that one of them died. He really couldn't bring himself to care. He didn't even bother to disturb the man who also ignored him. He did however take a look over the back of the couch to see that same girl from before, the one that had to be his little sister. "It's too early to be drinking right now, boy." The man in the hoodie muttered looking up from what was apparently praying. It was Xavier's biological father, and the only man he'd ever consider calling dad. "You could have told me, when you were still alive." Luther said taking a sip and ignoring the suggestion. "And what would you have done then? The same thing you're doing now. Elizabeth didn't want you to feel even worse about yourself than you already did." His "Dad" said quietly standing. "Balcony. Now." Luther growled walking past him. The man followed surprisingly.

When they stopped there was a pause and then Luther turned and looked dead at him and waved the neck of the beer at him for emphasis, "Did she even _love_ me? I'm a rape child of a man that she _could not stand_. She had to have seen his face whenever she looked at me. Did she even _care_?"

"Elizabeth loved you with all her heart, just like she did Edward. You aren't a rape child; that man was just so insane in the head that he just wanted to see you squirm. You're not a rape child Luther. He lied." Luther fell silent, looking down at his drink in slight distaste but kept drinking. "She still hated him though… she still had to have seen him in me…"

"Your mother loved you very much and never once in her life saw that man in you. You are nothing like him."

"I believe I'm more like him now than I ever was…" Luther sighed looking out onto the city again. "I'm not even supposed to be alive-"

"Neither am I or your brother or even Primrose." His dad said pointing to the girl. "Mom's favorite flower…" Luther smiled… "It rained yesterday." His father said. "I know; I tore off his neck in the middle of it."

"But it was only raining over the courtyard." Luther looked at him in confusion.

"Prim made it rain for you." Luther was silent for a moment, then looked back at his dad and asked, "So what now?"

"Enjoy Christmas. You especially deserve that much. Have fun, smile. Be happy for what you have now. And remember to keep what you need with you." That was kind of hard to do with the added weight on his chest. And as for what he needed, Luther could guess Dad knew about Jellal. "Or will you just ruin _her_ first?" His dad pointed at Primrose again. "I haven't even gotten anything for them; especially for Rowan, how am I supposed to-" He looked away for a second and then looked back, there were six gifts stacked neatly on the floor of the balcony for him. His dad was gone. There was one there for everyone and then three more. One for each sibling. Luther sighed and just picked them up scattering the ones that were supposedly from him with the other gifts that had been left beside the tree that the hotel had set up. Then he put the other three together, as if his Dad had left them there to see. He didn't want to open anything, not without anyone else… and even then he still kind of didn't want to open it. Luther then went back to bed to find that Rowan had woken as well and simply changed into something a bit more comfortable. Namely one of his shirts again and then had gone back to sleep. It didn't even irritate him; really he wanted a little consistency right now, at least in normal terms.

Luther would've curled up to her again if he hadn't also wanted a shower. He felt disgusting! He left the beer beside the sink and stripped while the shower was heating up. There was something still around his wrist; it was that bracelet Rowan had given him the morning before. It was probably the thing that saved that wrist from bleeding from straining against those restraints so hard… his tongue… it had been cut off… he remembered it was starting to heal already by the time he was in that courtyard. Luther turned to face the mirror and stuck out his tongue. It was a bit longer than what he was used to… and pointier. That's going to take some getting used to. Hell he's going to be a little scared of the next time his tongue gets cut off, watch it regrow to the length of a frog's tongue. He frowned at the sight of it, it couldn't have added more than half an inch to it, but still…

When the water had heated up he stepped in, the almost scalding water was still comforting, still calming. His tentacles would've curled around each other from the tension he'd felt. The water had however allowed them to unfurl, all the stress and tension was washed away. He could spend years feeling like that, having everything from the past few days just wash away leaving him somewhat blissful.

The water was getting ready to turn cold when he shut it off and dried himself. He had to be thorough with the drying process, better for transforming. The towel was soft and warm. It made him smile because it turned his attention back to that little fox lying asleep on the bed waiting for him to come back to cuddle up to him again. That brought out a grin and he sipped the beer again. First thing he put back on was the protection bracelet. It glittered for a moment when he put it back on and then settled. Looking down at the beer, he realized his distaste for it and it would be just useless to drown his sorrows with it and become an alcoholic right there. Luther poured out the rest and threw away the bottle before finishing dressing and striding out of the bathroom. Lying down beside Rowan he snickered as she immediately turned over and made an attempt to pull him closer. It was like she was saying "Mine!" and was pulling closer a big warm if a bit stiff teddy bear. Luther let her pull him close, so he could wrap his arms around her too and easily fall back asleep.

Christmas morning came around eight o'clock when everyone but Luther was up and about. "Should we wait for him?" Ed asked looking towards their bedroom. "Nah, he already said just to go on without him and he'll be out later." Rowan said sifting through the gifts, the first of which she noticed was not from any of them. "Hey… who put these here?" Ed took a look at them after tossing the gift he got for Lyth to her. "Uh…" Xavier peeked out and turned pale for a moment. "It's Dad, don't worry 'bout it." He said listening to Ed freak out from the realization and shaking his head. Primrose saw her name and her eyes lit up. It was as if she'd never received a gift before… it was a pretty little messenger bag. On the bag there was an emblem of a pink primrose going through a slightly tilted, red ring, and it lay against a very light brown background. Her name was stitched into the back of it.

Then Xavier realized she'd only received one gift and looked down a little awkward and ashamed. His name was called from somewhere and he looked up in time to see and catch another present. Luther was standing at the bedroom door yawning and holding another one as well. "Next time you try and hide last minute gifts don't put them in front of my face." Confused Xavier looked down and realized this was for Primrose and it was signed from him, but he hadn't gotten anything for… Dad. He smiled a little and handed the girl the small flat rectangular present and muttered merry Christmas. Luther walked up and dropped his next to her and relaxed on an armchair, his eyes drifting closed again. "Still too early huh?" Xavier snorted. Luther grunted acknowledging that he heard but didn't really answer him. Those two presents were a sketching set, and a sketch book, and Xavier doubted she had ever looked so happy.

The only presents that were left untouched were Luther's and admittedly it wasn't all that surprising or worrying. He'd get to them when he wanted to. Though Xavier did manage to persuade him to open one. It was Dad's gift, and inside was something that he really didn't think would have survived the fire. It was their father's wind-up pocket watch which once belonged to their mother's dad. The key was still there even. It managed to make him smile again. He didn't have the ability to stay awake for very long though. Luther just slept there on the arm chair and Xavier was rather surprised to find that he's a quiet sleeper. Rowan woke him an hour later by waving a cup of coffee under his nose. "Just what I needed…" Luther snickered taking a long drink and then standing to stretch. "When you're done socializing I need to make sure everything healed properly." Rowan said when she leaned in to poke his chest with a finger. "Sure thing, you want to right now?" Luther's rather devious grin was a very good sign that what happened yesterday wouldn't affect him too much, and he still had an ever present appetite when it came to sex regardless of where they were. They made an excuse to go back to bed and locked the door behind them.

Ed and Xavier cut the guy some slack… at least for today, and tried not to think about what might be going on behind that door. Xavier managed to ward Primrose away as well and began to wonder what will they do with her now? She doesn't exactly have a home anymore. He doubted that either of them had fit homes for her to be raised in either. Maybe their cousin John… Reman's son, currently working as FBI, he was great with kids as far as he was aware… and did have a wife… decent life style, maybe Xavier should give him a call. John didn't have magic abilities like him, which was one of the main reasons why Reman took the opportunity to kidnap him and force him to learn magic when he did. After Uncle Reman died, John followed him to America, suffering the same unwarranted hate and abandonment from the rest of their family.

Primrose was an avid drawer for her age; the sketches she'd done of Luther while he was asleep in the armchair were very realistic. She'd even done one of Lyth while she was polishing her katana out of boredom earlier. Xavier took notice that she was now drawing him when she kept looking up at him, and studying him for a moment. Xavier paid no real mind though; he didn't really have much intention of moving quite yet. He still had to shut Ed up because he'd been whining since he first realized that their father was a zombie now. He'd texted John to call him when he wakes up since he'll be getting this at one in the morning where he is.

Well, he thought that, then his cell went off and he stood to Prim's disappointment and went out onto the balcony to take it. "'Ello?"

"'Ay, it's me, I got your text, what's going on?" Xavier wanted Ed to talk for him, but he was still being a pain about their dad. "Well, first of all why the hell are you awake when it's like one in the morning over there?"

"Late night at work."

"Ah well, anyway… some things happened while we were over here and uh…"

"Just freaking spit it out."

"Alright! Damn you're snappy. We apparently have a little sister, and neither of us can take care of her as you could probably guess."

"You want me to take care of her?"

"Yeah..."

"Is she going to be a problem for me?"

"From what I've seen of her no… she has a real talent for art, and isn't really scared of anything as far as I can tell. I believe she is able to do magic, under the circumstances in which we found her. Her name's Primrose."

"Like the flower?"

"No duh Sherlock. Seriously, I wouldn't be coming to you if I didn't think she would be safer with anyone else."

"Can't you just leave her with one of our relati-"

"They do not like us at all John! If I left her with one of them we would never see her again!" Xavier hissed starting to remember why he preferred it when Ed spoke with him. "Ok! Ok, let me talk to my wife. If she's ok with it then she can come live with us." Xavier sighed, he hated being out of character to do the right thing. "Thank you." He really didn't like saying please or thank you either. Xavier put his cell away and went back into the common room and seated himself on the couch beside Primrose. She slumped against him and he found her to be asleep. Looks like everyone was tired today… He felt a little awkward like this but it also felt warm; and sweet. He hadn't felt something like that in forever. A soft smile cracked his lips and he kissed her lightly on the head while folding one leg over the other and whispering, "Merry Christmas to all… and to all a good night."


End file.
